A Palestinian medic searches for survivors in the rubble of a building after it was hit during an Israeli strike on Gaza City's Zaytoun neighbourhood in October 2024. AFP
The Palestinian Civil Defense Agency said Sunday an Israeli strike on a mosque-turned-shelter in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza, killed 21 people, in another horrific massacre against displaced families in the area.
"The number of deaths rose to 21 and a large number of wounded as a result of the occupation bombing of a mosque sheltering displaced people in front of the gate of Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip," agency spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP.
Some children’s bodies arrived at the hospital with severe mutilations and others were even beheaded, according to WAFA news agency.
Healthcare workers are facing overwhelming challenges, as they try to prioritize treatment for the critically injured while grappling with a severe shortage of medical supplies and medications needed for care.
Earlier in the night, two civilians, including an infant girl, were killed and 11 were wounded, in an Israeli airstrike on Beit Lahiya in northern Gaza, WAFA said.
Simultaneously, Israeli warplanes continued to carry out dozens of strikes across northern Gaza, leading to a rising toll of casualties, with many of the victims being children.
Israel claimed it targeted a Hamas command and control centre embedded among civilians, without providing evidence.
Israel also once again ordered evacuations in northern Gaza, where it has repeatedly carried out major air and ground operations against Hamas only to see the fighters regroup.
“We are in a new phase of the war,” the military said in leaflets dropped over the area, as reported by AP.
“These areas are considered dangerous combat zones.”
Avichay Adraee, a spokesman for the Israeli military, said it has expanded the so-called humanitarian zone in southern Gaza, urging people to head there.
The zone includes sprawling tent camps where hundreds of thousands of people have already sought refuge, and Israel has carried out strikes inside it against what it claims are fighters sheltering among civilians.
Palestinian residents reported heavy Israeli strikes across northern Gaza.
The Civil Defense said several homes and buildings had been hit and they were not able to reach them because of the bombardment.
Many posted about the airstrikes and mourned their relatives on social media.
Imad Alarabid said in a Facebook post that an airstrike on his home in Jabaliya killed a dozen of his family members, including his parents.
The latest strikes add to the mounting Palestinian death toll in Gaza, which is nearing 42,000, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.
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