Israeli Airstrikes kill At least 37 In Gaza – Palestinian Medics

Israeli airstrikes killed at least 37 people in Gaza on Tuesday, local medics said and fighting ramped up, as the Israeli military said it had been targeting command centres used by its Islamist militant for Hamas.

Palestinian health officials said at least 13 people, including women and children, were killed in two Israeli strikes on two houses in Nuseirat, one of the enclave’s eight historic refugee camps.

The Israeli defence forces are conducting limited and targeted raids along Israel’s northern border against the threat Hezbollah poses to civilians in northern Israel.

There has been no immediate comment by the Israeli army on the two strikes.

Another strike on a school sheltering displaced Palestinian families in the Tuffah neighbourhood of Gaza City killed at least seven people, medics added.

The Israeli military said in a statement that the air strike targeted Hamas militants operating from a command centre embedded in a compound that had previously served as Al-Shejaia School.

It accused Hamas of using the civilian population and facilities for military purposes, which Hamas denies.

Later on Tuesday, two separate Israeli attacks killed five Palestinians in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip and in the Zeitoun suburb of Gaza City, medics said.

In Khan Younis, in the south of the enclave, six Palestinians were killed in an Israeli air strike on a tent housing displaced people, medics said.

Hours later, an Israeli airstrike on a car in western Khan Younis killed six Palestinians, medics said. Footage circulated on social media.

The armed wings of Hamas, the Islamic Jihad, and other smaller militant factions said in separate statements that their fighters attacked Israeli forces operating in several areas of Gaza with anti-tank rockets, mortar fire, and explosive devices.

The renewed surge in violence in Gaza comes as Israel began a ground operation in Lebanon, saying its paratroopers and commandos were engaged in intense fighting with Iran-backed Hezbollah. The conflict follows devastating Israeli airstrikes against Hezbollah’s leadership.

Reuters/ Shakirat Sadiq