At least 46 killed in Gaza as Israeli army launches new incursion in north
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
Follow topic:
CAIRO – At least 26 people were killed and 93 others wounded after Israeli air strikes hit a mosque and a school sheltering displaced families in the Gaza Strip early on Oct 6.
Palestinian health officials said more than 20 others had been killed since Oct 5 in northern Gaza after the Israeli army sent tanks into areas there for the first time in months while urging residents to go to what it called safe zones in the south.
The Israeli military said it conducted “precise strikes on Hamas terrorists” operating within command-and-control centres embedded at Ibn Rushd School and the Shuhada al-Aqsa Mosque in the area of Deir Al-Balah in central Gaza.
Hamas rejects Israeli accusations that it uses civilian facilities such as schools, hospitals and mosques for military purposes.
“The mosque has been here for 20 years, and the neighbourhood has displaced people,” imam Ahmed Fleet said as he retrieved Qurans from the debris. “I was shocked when it was struck.”
The strikes on the mosque and the school came as the war between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas in the enclave approaches its first anniversary,
Hamas attacked southern Israel on Oct 7, 2023,
Israel’s subsequent military assault on Gaza has left nearly 42,000 Palestinians dead. It has also displaced nearly all of the enclave’s 2.3 million people, caused a humanitarian crisis and led to genocide allegations at the World Court that Israel denies.
Pro-Palestine protesters take part in a rally to mark one year of Israel’s war on Gaza in Seoul, South Korea.
PHOTO: EPA-EFE
The International Committee of the Red Cross urged all parties to ensure all civilians were protected.
“This is a year marked by heartbreak and unanswered questions. Families have been torn apart, with many loved ones still held against their will. Tens of thousands of people have been killed and millions have been displaced across the region,” it said.
The Hamas-run Gaza government media office said Israel has struck 27 houses, schools and displacement shelters across Gaza in the past 48 hours.
“These crimes take place amid difficult health conditions in Gaza, and where the remaining hospitals are unable to provide good medical and health care as the number of injured and patients increase every day,” it said.
The Israeli army on Oct 5 issued new evacuation orders in parts of Nuseirat camp in central Gaza, just north of Deir Al-Balah, forcing hundreds of families to leave their houses. The military statement said its forces aimed to operate against Hamas militants who waged attacks from the territory.
Tanks push into northern Gaza
Meanwhile, Israeli tanks pushed into the northern Gaza areas of Beit Lahiya and Jabalia overnight, and planes hit several houses, killing at least 20 people, according to medics.
The Israeli military said its forces have encircled the area Jabalia, the focus of its operations.
In one air strike, 10 people were killed in one house and five others in another strike on a second home, and residents described it as one of the worst nights in many months.
The Israeli military said its forces were operating in Jabalia, the largest of Gaza’s eight historic refugee camps, to fight Hamas militants, dismantle military infrastructure and prevent Hamas from regrouping.
“Before the start of the operation, its Air Force attacked dozens of military targets to support the manoeuvring forces, including weapons depots, underground structures, terrorist cells and additional military structures,” the Israeli military statement said.
“The operation will continue as necessary, with systematic strikes and the radical destruction of terrorist structures in the region,” it added.
It directed residents to head towards a humanitarian-designated area in Al-Mawasi in southern Gaza.
Palestinian and UN officials say no place in the enclave is safe, including the humanitarian zones that Israeli missiles have hit several times.
“The war is back,” said Raed, 52, from Jabalia, before he and his family left for Gaza City on Oct 6.
“Dozens of explosions from air strikes and tank shelling shook the ground and buildings, it felt like the early days of the war,” he told Reuters via a chat app.
Asked whether they would go to Al-Mawasi as the army requested, he replied: “As if they didn’t kill people displaced in the so-called humanitarian areas? We will not leave northern Gaza.”
Among those killed in northern Gaza on Oct 6 was a local journalist, Mr Hassan Hamad. His death raised to 175 the number of Palestinian journalists killed since Oct 7. REUTERS
