Israeli air and ground attacks kill dozens across Gaza

Civilian deaths reported despite Israeli military claiming it is targeting Hamas positions.

Dozens of Palestinians are reported to have been killed as Israel has stepped up its military operations across Gaza.

Gaza’s Health Ministry reported on Wednesday that at least 51 people had been killed in the enclave over the previous 24 hours, as the Israeli military has stepped up attacks alongside its ongoing air and ground offensive in Lebanon.

Israeli fighter jets attacked Gaza City overnight, striking the Muscat School in the Tuffah neighbourhood and the Al-Amal Orphanage in the west of the capital. At least nine displaced people sheltering at the locations were killed, according to the Palestinian news agency Wafa.

The Israeli military, meanwhile, announced an attack on the “Brig High School” in central Gaza. The exact location of the target was not immediately clear and it was not known at the time of reporting whether there were any deaths.

In separate statements, the army said the two schools and the orphanage were being used as Hamas “command and control complexes” to plan and carry out operations.

Israel has hit dozens of schools, many of them being used to shelter displaced people, in Gaza throughout its yearlong war in the enclave, claiming they were being used by the armed group.

People and rescuers check the damage following an Israeli attack on a school sheltering displaced Palestinians in Falluja, near the Jabalia refugee camp in Gaza [File: Omar Al-Qataa/AFP]

In southern Gaza, air attacks accompanied the arrival of tanks in three neighbourhoods of Khan Younis. At least 32 people were killed and dozens injured, the city’s European Hospital said, according to The Associated Press news agency.

The hospital records show that seven women and 12 children, as young as 22 months old, were among those killed, AP said.

Dr Saleh al-Hams, head of the nursing department, said the dead and wounded were brought to the European and Nasser Hospitals, both in Khan Younis, starting at about 3am (0:00 GMT). He said he expected the death toll to rise.

Resurgence

Israel has revived its military operations in Gaza, as well as its aggressive raids and arrests in the occupied West Bank, in recent days. The resurgence of violence in the Palestinian territory comes as the world’s attention has been drawn to the Israeli military’s assault on Lebanon.

The ongoing attacks in Gaza have also been overshadowed by raised fears of a wider regional conflict after Iran launched a barrage of missiles at Israel on Tuesday.

Tehran called the attack vengeance for the latter’s deadly attacks on Gaza and Lebanon, as well as the killing of senior Hamas and Hezbollah figures.

Those Iran-linked armed groups have been engaged in low-level hostilities with Israel since the outbreak of the war in Gaza.

The world is now calling for calm as Israel and Iran issue fresh threats against one another. Meanwhile, the violence in Gaza persists.

Nearly a year of relentless Israeli attacks on the enclave have killed more than 41,500 people and wounded almost 100,000, with thousands still missing under the rubble of destroyed buildings.

Source

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Al Jazeera and news agencies