Israel intensifies Gaza strikes following deadly safe zone attack

Israel struck nan confederate and cardinal Gaza Strip connected Monday to put much unit connected Hamas, pursuing a play onslaught targeting nan militant group’s activity which killed scores of Palestinians camped successful a designated “safe zone”.

Two days aft nan Israeli onslaught turned a crowded swathe of Mawasi adjacent nan Mediterranean seashore into a charred wasteland littered pinch burning cars and mangled bodies, displaced survivors said they had nary thought wherever they should spell next.

“Those moments arsenic nan crushed shook underneath my feet and nan particulate and soil roseate to nan entity and I saw dismembered bodies — was for illustration thing I person seen successful my life,” said Aya Mohammad, 30, a marketplace seller successful Mawasi, reached by mobile matter message.

“Where to spell is what everybody asks, and nary 1 has nan answer.”

Mawasi, connected nan occidental outskirts of Khan Younis, has been sheltering hundreds of thousands of Palestinians who fled to nan area aft Israel declared it a safe zone. Israel said its onslaught location connected Saturday targeted Hamas subject commandant Mohammed Deif, an designer of nan Oct. 7 battle connected Israeli towns and villages that triggered nan Gaza war.

Palestinian officials opportunity astatine slightest 90 group were killed connected Saturday and galore hundreds wounded. Reuters journalists astatine nan segment filmed carnage, pinch residents carrying nan wounded and dormant amid flames and smoke.

Further southbound successful Rafah, main attraction of Israel’s beforehand since May, residents reported renewed fighting connected Monday. Israeli forces successful occidental and cardinal parts of nan metropolis blew up respective homes, they said. Medical officials said they recovered 10 bodies of Palestinians killed by Israeli occurrence successful eastbound areas of nan city, immoderate of which had already begun to decompose.

The subject besides stepped up aerial and vessel shelling successful central Gaza in nan Al-Bureij and Al-Maghazi historical exile camps. Health officials said 5 Palestinians were killed successful an Israeli aerial onslaught connected a location successful Maghazi camp.

The Israeli subject said nan aerial forces struck dozens of Palestinian subject targets across Gaza, sidesplitting galore gunmen. It said forces killed gunmen successful Rafah and central Gaza, sometimes successful adjacent combat.

A connection from nan Al-Quds brigade, nan equipped helping of nan Islamic Jihad militant group, said its fighters were engaged successful fierce battles successful nan Yabna campy successful Rafah.

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Saturday’s carnage successful Mawasi, 1 of nan deadliest Israeli strikes of nan war, has overshadowed negotiations that some sides had antecedently described arsenic nan closest yet to a lasting ceasefire. A elder Hamas charismatic said connected Sunday nan group had not walked retired of nan talks despite nan Mawasi strike.

Israel says different elder commandant was killed successful nan onslaught but it has not yet confirmed nan destiny of Deif. Hamas officials person denied Deif was killed.

The Gaza health ministry said astatine slightest 38,000 Palestinians person been killed successful Israel’s subject violative since Oct. 7. It does not separate betwixt combatants and non-combatants but officials opportunity astir of nan dormant passim nan warfare person been civilians.

Israel says it has mislaid 326 soldiers in Gaza and says astatine slightest a 3rd of nan Palestinian fatalities are fighters.

The warfare began aft a Hamas-led onslaught wrong Israel connected Oct. 7, by militants who killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took much than 250 hostage to Gaza, according to Israeli authorities.