Israeli air attacks and a ground operation targeting the Khan Younis neighborhood in southern Gaza killed at least 51 people, according to Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry.
On Tuesday night, tanks reportedly advanced into areas of the city and its surroundings, with inhabitants reporting shooting and heavy bombardment.
One wounded guy who made it to the hospital told the BBC that “tanks stormed in” to his community without notice.
Separately, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it had attacked Hamas targets in four schools housing displaced persons in central and northern Gaza.
According to the IDF, Hamas members were operating within “command and control centers” embedded in schools in Muscat, Rimal, Bureij, and Nuseirat.
According to Palestinian news agency Wafa, at least nine civilians were murdered at Muscat School in Gaza City’s Tuffah area, while six more were killed at the Al-Amal Institute for Orphans in the Rimal neighbourhood.
Later, the Al-Amal Institute for Orphans reported on Facebook that an Israeli strike damaged one of their buildings, which housed hundreds of displaced residents, killing eight people and injuring many more, including children and women.
According to Gaza’s Civil Defense officials, Israel struck Nuseirat Girls’ School in central Gaza on Wednesday, killing three people and injuring 15.
Israel’s ongoing assaults on Gaza came just one day after repelling an Iranian missile bombardment and launching a ground invasion of Lebanon. It described Tuesday’s move into Lebanon as a “limited” operation aimed at Hezbollah-controlled positions following a year of cross-border warfare.
The IDF has yet to comment on the strikes in southern Gaza, which apparently took place early on Wednesday.
However, one guy from Qizan al-Najjar hamlet, southeast of Khan Younis, told BBC Arabic that some of his relatives were killed in the strike.
“Tanks stormed into the area, accompanied by quadcopters that directly targeted us,” he said, speaking from Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, where medical personnel were also providing casualty updates.
Another hospital employee stated, “We were in Qizan al-Najjar when suddenly, shells began to rain down on us from planes and tanks.”
A third individual told BBC Arabic, “There was no prior warning.” Following the rocket fire from Lebanon, we saw full wreckage. I barely escaped; my daughter is damaged, and my wife has a brain injury that may result in visual loss.” He further said that Israeli forces had “completely destroyed” a home where displaced families were staying.
On Wednesday, Gaza’s health ministry warned that the death toll could grow, with an additional 82 people injured in the strikes.
Since December, the IDF has conducted repeated ground operations targeting Hamas fighters in Khan Younis, Gaza’s second-largest metropolitan region.
The battle began on October 7, last year, when Hamas terrorists assaulted Israel, killing around 1,200 people and took 251 others captive.
Israel reacted with a military campaign in Gaza, which has killed 41,689 people, according to the health ministry.
