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Israel strikes kill 32 in Gaza

Written by Jerry Alomatu on July 12, 2024

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Israeli airstrikes have resulted in the deaths of 32 individuals in the Gaza Strip, the health ministry in the Hamas-ruled territory reported on Friday, marking over nine months of conflict between Hamas and Israel.

The strikes have spanned the coastal territory from north to south amid ongoing negotiations for a truce and the release of hostages taken by Hamas during their unprecedented attack on southern Israel on October 7, which sparked the current conflict.

According to a brief statement from Gaza’s health ministry, “32 martyrs, a majority of them children and women, were taken to hospitals overnight, because of continued massacres” by Israeli forces.

Hamas media reported “more than 70 air strikes” targeting various parts of the territory, including Gaza City in the north, Nuseirat refugee camp in the center, and Khan Yunis and Rafah in the south.

The Israeli military confirmed ongoing operations in Rafah, near the Egyptian border, stating that troops had eliminated numerous terrorists through close-quarters combat and aerial strikes while dismantling terrorist infrastructure in the area. In central Gaza, troops killed several militants who posed a threat and discovered a weapons production workshop along with substantial funds used for terrorist activities.

In Beit Hanoun in far-northern Gaza, Israeli aircraft targeted locations from which projectiles had been fired into southern Israel on Thursday. Additionally, around 60 bodies were discovered under rubble in Gaza City’s eastern Shujaiya neighborhood after Israeli troops ended a two-week operation there. Mahmud Bassal a Civil Defence spokesman reported that 85 percent of buildings in Shujaiya are now uninhabitable, leaving the area a “disaster zone.”

Israel’s army has urged all residents of Gaza City to evacuate for their safety, calling the area “a dangerous combat zone.” The United Nations estimates that up to 350,000 people had been staying in the city.