Israeli attacks leave dozens dead, including a local journalist, as the toll of Palestinians dead in the besieged territory approaches 39,000.
The Israeli army continued its relentless bombardment of Gaza, with strikes hitting the southern, central and northern parts of the territory.
The Palestinian Civil Defense announced Saturday that its teams had recovered the bodies of 12 people killed in two Israeli attacks on the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza. The Israeli army had shelled a residential tower in the area.
The Civil Defense also documented the killing of six Palestinians in the nearby Bureij camp, while 10 others were killed in Gaza City and other areas in the north of the territory.
Israel also bombed a commercial building housing displaced people east of Khan Younis on Saturday night, according to local sources. The Civil Defense said the attack killed at least six people, while others were still missing under the rubble.
Wafa news agency also reported that one person was killed and several others injured in an Israeli airstrike in Rafah, southern Gaza.
Israeli bombings on Jabalia in northern Gaza killed local journalist Muhammad Abu Jasser, his wife and two children.
“We were sleeping safely in the house. There was no armed presence. Suddenly a missile fell on us,” Abu Jasser’s cousin told Tel Aviv Tribune Arabic.
“There were mangled bodies strewn across the ground outside – a horrific scene. Little children, what had they done to be killed like this?”
The Gaza government’s media office said 161 Palestinian journalists in Gaza have been killed since the start of the war.
Early Saturday, Gaza’s health ministry said Israeli forces had killed 37 people in the past 24 hours, bringing the Palestinian death toll from the war to 38,919.
Israel has imposed a suffocating blockade on Gaza, causing a food crisis in the territory. Health advocates have also warned of the spread of disease due to sewage spills around displacement camps.
At the same time, the Interior Ministry warned residents against moving from the north to the south of the territory, accusing Israel of using “psychological pressure on citizens” to displace more Palestinians.
“We warn citizens against the lies and deception of the occupation. We welcome the determination of citizens in their homes,” the ministry said in a statement.
“The occupation is carrying out the most horrific forms of torture and abuse against displaced people, far from the cameras, executing dozens of them and leaving the wounded to bleed to death.”
Israel has stepped up its attacks on Gaza in recent weeks as part of negotiations aimed at reaching a ceasefire deal that would see the release of Israeli captives held by Hamas and other Palestinian groups.
Hamas has accused Israel of stepping up its bombing campaign over the past two days in response to the International Court of Justice’s ruling on Friday that Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories is illegal.
“The United Nations must act swiftly to put an end to this display of Zionist crimes and terrorism that is taking place with the direct support of the US administration,” the Palestinian group said in a statement.
Izzat al-Rishq, a member of the Palestinian group’s political bureau, stressed later Saturday that Israel’s “crimes” will not stop without “a price to pay and increasing pressure.”
Hamas’ military wing, the Qassam Brigades, and allied armed groups claimed responsibility for several attacks on Israeli forces on Thursday, including an ambush on a tank in Rafah.