Gaza Strip: Israeli bombing killed dozens of people in besieged Gaza taking the death toll to at least 22,313 lives, the health ministry of the Palestinian territory said on Thursday, as regional tensions have surged over the almost three-months-old war.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was due to head to the Middle East, a US official said on condition of anonymity, the top diplomat’s fourth trip to the region since the Hamas attack of October 7 triggered the bloodiest ever Gaza war.
The Israeli military, in its campaign to destroy Hamas, has reported more strikes in and around Gaza City, now a largely devastated urban combat zone, and Khan Younis, the biggest city in the territory’s south.
The Gaza health ministry reported “dozens of martyrs and more than 100 wounded in the continued barbaric aerial and artillery bombardment of citizens’ homes in the Gaza Strip”.
The Israeli army said it targeted “terrorists” attempting to “place an explosive device near soldiers” and an arms depot in Khan Younis.
Fires sparked by bombing raged in Gaza’s central Deir Al Balah area and the Al Maghazi refugee camp.“People were safe in their homes, the house was full of children,” resident Ibrahim al Ghimri said. “There were around 30 people. All of a sudden their houses fell on them... What have these children done?”
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