By Abdul Adil
London, (The Muslim News): 69 more Palestinians were killed and 212 others injured by Israeli Defence Forces’ indiscriminate bombings in the last 24 hours on the Gaza Strip, taking the total death toll od Palestinians killed by Israeli forces to 40,334 and 93,356 others injured since October of last year, the Health Ministry in the enclave said on Saturday.
Meanwhile, more than 100,000 people have been forced to evacuate Deir el-Balah in central Gaza, as Israel’s army attacks homes and tents in Khan Younis and Nuseirat refugee camp.
At least 24 Palestinians were killed, including four women and four children, and dozens of others injured as the Israeli army continued its assault on Palestinians in the Gaza Strip with airstrikes early Saturday morning.
According to the Palestinian news agency Wafa, 11 Palestinians were killed and 15 others injured when Israeli fighter jets bombed a house in the Al-Amal neighborhood west of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip.
Medical sources told Anadolu Agency that “the body of a martyr and three injuries were shifted to the Kuwait Specialized Field Hospital after firing from Israeli vehicles towards tents for displaced people on Street 5 west of Khan Younis.”
The Palestinian Civil Defense in Gaza also said in a statement that five Palestinians were killed in an Israeli shelling targeting a motorcycle in the Al-Katiba area in Khan Younis.
Separately, three more Palestinians were killed and several others injured in an Israeli airstrike on a residential apartment in the Ayn Jalut Towers in Nuseirat Camp of central Gaza, the news agency said.
Four more Palestinians were killed in an Israeli bombardment of a residential apartment in the Nuseirat camp, according to the Palestinian Civil Defense, which did not provide any further information.
In Gaza City, the Israeli army continues intensive air and artillery bombardment of the Zeitoun and Al-Sabra neighborhoods south of the city, according to eyewitnesses.
Gaza’s Civil Defense teams on Saturday recovered the bodies of 49 Palestinians killed by ongoing Israeli airstrikes since dawn and over the past two days, the service announced.
Mohammed Al-Mughayer, director of supply and equipment at Palestinian Civil Defense, said: “Our teams have recovered the bodies of 49 Palestinians who were martyred as a result of Israeli shelling at dawn Saturday and during the past two days in southern and central parts of the Gaza Strip.”
He told Anadolu that areas from which the bodies were recovered include the residential city of Hamad, areas west of Rafah, and the Ain Jalut Towers area in the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza.
“The Palestinians were killed by Israeli artillery shelling, gunfire, or air raids,” the official said.
“Our teams are working in areas from which the Israeli army has withdrawn, north of Khan Younis, to search for missing persons under the rubble of homes targeted by the Israeli occupation, he added.
The Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) says its medics transferred the bodies of at least 14 Palestinians to Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis city.
Earlier, several attacks in or around Khan Younis had led to the deaths of at least 20 people, including women and children.
Dozens of civilians today were killed and injured in the occupation’s bombing east of Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip, and east of Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip.
Local sources reported that the Israeli’s warplanes targeted a group of citizens in the Abu Areef area east of Deir al-Balah, resulting in the killing of at least one civilian and the injury of others.
The Israeli warplanes also targeted the tents of the displaced people east of Deir al-Balah, which led to the injury of a number of people, including women.
Meanwhile, Israel’s artillery shelled the Hakr al-Jami’ area in Deir al-Balah, causing injury of dozens of civilians.
Two people were killed in an Israeli drone that targeted the al-Katiba area east of Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip.
The Israeli army on Saturday ordered Palestinians in several areas in the central Gaza Strip to evacuate in preparation for a possible military operation.
In a statement, Israeli army spokesman Avichay Adraee ordered residents of the neighborhoods of Al-Masdar and Al-Maghazi, east of the city of Deir Al-Balah, and also a group around Salah Al-Din Street to “evacuate the areas immediately” and move to what he called the “humanitarian area.”
He added that the army will “forcefully operate” against Palestinian groups in the area.
Several times during the 10-month war on Gaza, Israel had ordered mass evacuations to “safe areas.”
Human rights groups and international observers decried the inhumanity of the orders and the mass suffering caused as a result. In addition, Palestinians often found themselves attacked by Israel en route to such “safe areas” as well as after they reached such zones.
The situation is devastating. Families forced to evacuate their homes and other places where they lived in the eastern part of Deir el-Balah had no time or space to find another area to settle in.
Some people are still trapped in the eastern part of Deir el-Balah because they were unable to evacuate due to Israeli forces carrying out artillery shelling and air strikes.
An estimated 1,139 people were killed in Israel during the Hamas-led attacks on October 7.
