Israel says fighter jets, attack helicopters ‘destroy’ 40 targets in past day
The Israeli military said its jet fighters and attack helicopters have been used in operations against Palestinian fighters and “40 terrorist targets” were destroyed throughout the Gaza Strip over the past day, including in southern Rafah.
Warplanes hit “a number of areas in Rafah”, which the Israeli military said were sites where rockets and rocket-propelled grenades had been fired towards Israeli territory and the Karem Abu Salem (Kerem Shalom) border crossing with Gaza.
Jet fighters also attacked targets in Gaza City’s Zeitoun neighbourhood and warplanes and helicopter gunships struck targets in the central area of the Palestinian territory, the military said in a series of posts on social media.
Israeli forces wage close-quarters combat in Rafah
Israel’s military says it is pressing on with operations in “specific areas” of eastern Rafah, with troops engaging in close-quarters combat with fighters and calling in air raids to target them.
Over the last day, Israeli fighter jets have also struck throughout central and northern Gaza, hitting a total of 40 targets, according to a military statement.
Israel’s latest wave of attacks across Gaza have killed numerous civilians, including several children whose home was struck in central Gaza’s Jabalia camp.
Eight members of same family killed in attack on Khan Younis home
An Israeli air strike has hit a family home in the town of Abasan al-Kabira, on the eastern outskirts of Khan Younis, reports Al Jazeera’s Hani Mahmoud. The attack killed eight people from the same family and injured many others.
Khan Younis is one of the areas that Palestinians fleeing Rafah have been heading to, although it has continued to come under attack.
Deir el-Balah running out of space, resources as thousands pour in
The Israeli military insists on expanding operations in Rafah and is continuing to pound the eastern part of the city. In the last 24 hours, there seems to be an increase in artillery shelling in the eastern and western areas where the vast majority of displaced families are sheltering.
This has been forcing people to move to newly designated safe areas, including Deir el-Balah, where thousands of people have been pouring in. They are setting up their tents and trying to find residential units available to stay in.
Not only is Deir el-Balah city running out of space, but it is also running out of resources, particularly water. In addition, there’s only one operational hospital here running at the lowest capacity imaginable. It has been through a lot in these seven months of this carnage.
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