Among the dead were those hit by two strikes in the Nuseirat refugee camp — nine from the same family in a house and, later, 13 in the same camp, including women and children, according to staff at al-Awda Hospital, where the bodies were brought.
Five others were killed when a strike hit a tent for the displaced, according to Nasser Hospital, which received the dead.
The director of Shifa Hospital in Gaza City told The Associated Press that medical teams there were concerned about Israeli “tanks approaching the vicinity of the hospital,” restricting access to the facility where 159 patients are being treated.
“The bombardment has not stopped for a single moment," Mohamed Abu Selmiya said.
He added that 14 premature babies were treated in incubators in Helou Hospital, though the head of neonatal intensive care there, Dr. Nasser Bulbul, has said that facility's main gate was closed because of drones flying over the building.
The attacks came hours after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's speech at the United Nations' General Assembly saw a major walkout of diplomats and their delegations in protest against the unfolding Israeli genocide in Gaza.
International pressure on Israel to end the war is increasing, as is Israel's isolation, with a growing list of countries deciding recently to recognise Palestinian statehood — something Israel rejects.
Countries have been lobbying U.S. President Donald Trump to press Israel for a ceasefire. On Friday, Trump told reporters on the White House lawn that he believes the U.S. is close to achieving a deal on easing fighting in Gaza that will “end the war.”
Trump and Netanyahu are scheduled to meet on Monday, and Trump said on social media Friday that “very inspiring and productive discussions” and “intense negotiations” about Gaza are ongoing with countries in the region.
Yet, Israel is pressing ahead with another major ground operation in Gaza City, which is experiencing famine. More than 300,000 people have fled, but up to 700,000 are still there, many because they can’t afford to relocate.
The strikes Saturday morning demolished a house in Gaza City's Tufah neighborhood, killing at least 11 people, more than half of them women and children, according to Al-Ahly Hospital, where the bodies were brought. Four other people were killed when an airstrike hit their homes in the Shati refugee camp, according to Shifa Hospital. Six other Palestinians were killed by Israeli gunfire while seeking aid in southern and central Gaza, according to the Nasser and Al Awda hospitals.
Hospitals and health clinics in Gaza City are on the brink of collapse. Nearly two weeks into the offensive, two clinics have been destroyed by airstrikes, two hospitals shut down after being damaged and others struggling with medicine, equipment, food and fuel in short supply, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.
Many patients and staff have been forced to flee hospitals, leaving behind only a few doctors and nurses to tend to children in incubators or other patients too ill to move.
On Friday, aid group Doctors Without Borders said it was forced to suspend activities in Gaza City. The group said Israeli tanks were less than a kilometer (half a mile) from its facilities, creating an “unacceptable level of risk" for its staff.
Meanwhile, the famine in the north has also worsened, as Israel has halted aid deliveries through its crossing into northern Gaza since Sept. 12 and has increasingly rejected U.N. requests to bring supplies from southern Gaza into the north, the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said.
“Food is scarce and expensive and water is not safe to drink,” said Amal al-Aas, who lives with her husband, three children and her father in western Gaza City.
People who are fleeing Gaza City for the south said food remains too expensive, and runs out at crammed charity kitchens offering staples like lentil soup and rice.
“Sometimes the food runs out before we get some. We go home empty-handed,” said Fatima Al-Daghma, who was displaced from eastern Khan Younis, on Saturday.
Israel’s campaign in Gaza has killed more than 65,900 people and wounded more than 167,000 others, mostly women and children.
*This story was edited by Ahram Online.
Short link: