Israeli forces have killed at least 16 Palestinians across Gaza and wounded dozens in the south of the enclave, local health officials said, as residents reported intensified military bombardment in the suburbs of Gaza City.
The military is preparing to take Gaza City, the enclave’s largest urban centre, despite international calls on Israel to reconsider this over fears that the operation would cause significant casualties and displace the roughly one million Palestinians sheltering there.
In Gaza City, residents said families were fleeing their homes, with most heading towards the coast, as Israel forces bombarded the eastern suburbs of Shejaia, Zeitoun, and Sabra.
The latest deaths took to 71 the number of Palestinians killed by Israeli fire in the past 24 hours, the Hamas-run health ministry said.
The UN considers these figures reliable.
Israel officials describe Gaza City as the last stronghold of Hamas, which ignited the war with its deadly October 2023 attack on Israel.
The Islamist militant group has since been decimated by Israel’s assault on Gaza.
The Israeli military said in a statement that it was continuing to operate throughout Gaza targeting what it described as “terrorist organisations” and infrastructure.
The military had killed three militants in the past day, it said, without saying how they had identified the individuals.
Dozens of wounded in Southern Gaza
In southern Gaza, dozens of Palestinians were admitted to Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis with gunshot wounds, according to a doctor there who said the military had opened fire on a crowd of Palestinians that had gathered near an aid distribution site.
Mohammad Saqer, the head of nursing, told Reuters most of the patients had been admitted with gunshot wounds to the upper parts of the body and that many were in critical condition.
The patients had reported they were shot as they sought to collect food from a distribution site in nearby Rafah, he said.
The Israeli military had no immediate comment.
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