Israeli forces escalated air and ground attacks on Gaza City, killing scores — including children — as hospitals overflow and resistance groups warn of fierce retaliation.
Israeli airstrikes on Friday morning targeted homes and tents sheltering displaced Palestinians in western Gaza, killing and wounding dozens. The Israeli army has vowed to intensify its assault on the city.
Medical sources confirmed that 18 Palestinians, including seven children, were killed and more than 20 others wounded in simultaneous strikes on residential apartments and makeshift shelters.
Ambulances transported the dead and injured to Al-Shifa Medical Complex and the Red Crescent Field Hospital, which are already overwhelmed. Images circulating online showed some of the wounded lying on the ground due to a lack of hospital beds.
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Additional raids struck the southern and eastern neighborhoods of Gaza City, including Al-Zaytoun, Al-Sabra, and Sheja’iyya. Palestinian media reported two deaths in Sabra, while Sheja’iyya came under air and artillery fire.
Mass killings in Gaza City are seen as part of Israel’s plan to displace nearly one million Palestinians to the south before moving to occupy the city. While some neighborhoods are emptying toward the west and south, many residents continue to resist Israeli evacuation orders.
Elsewhere, Al-Awda and Nasser hospitals reported that Israeli forces shot dead two starving Palestinians as they tried to collect food in central and southern Gaza.
In Deir al-Balah, airstrikes hit a residential home, while gunfire was reported near an aid control center along the Netzarim axis. Israeli raids also resumed in Khan Yunis, in the south.
Gaza’s hospitals documented 75 deaths on Thursday, including 44 in Gaza City and 17 Palestinians killed while seeking food.
The Israeli military said it plans to expand operations in the coming days with reserve troops joining the fight, aiming to occupy Gaza City.
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Israel’s Channel 14 reported that a new phase of the operation will begin next week with intensified airstrikes followed by a ground invasion. The channel added that residents of Gaza City will soon be ordered to evacuate southward.
Al-Jazeera’s correspondent reported heavy Israeli fire on homes along Al-Jalaa Street in central Gaza, as well as advancing forces planting car bombs inside residential neighborhoods.
In response, Palestinian resistance groups — led by the Qassam Brigades and the Al-Quds Brigades — warned that Israel would pay a heavy price for any attempt to fully occupy Gaza City.
(PC, AJA)
