After more than 14 months of Israeli aggression, shelling intensifies across the besieged territory, deepening the humanitarian crisis.
Dozens of people have been killed in Israeli attacks on the besieged northern and central Gaza Strip, medical officials said.
Israeli forces bombed a residential building in Beit Rahiya, near Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza early Wednesday morning, which has been under an even tighter siege for more than two months.
The attack killed at least 20 people, including women and children, but there were fears the death toll could rise further. Local media reported that at least 30 refugees were living in Abu Tarabish’s high-rise building before the attack.
Footage seen by Al Jazeera showed people using their bare hands to remove large pieces of concrete from the ruins of the bombed building. The body of one child was removed from the rubble.
“The house is in ruins. Smoke is still rising,” journalist Moas Karrut reported from the scene. “Neighbors are trying to pull the body out from under the rubble due to the lack of rescuers.”
Later that day, another attack on a house in the densely populated Nuseyrat refugee camp killed at least seven members of the same family.
The Palestinian Civil Emergency Authority said two more people were killed in Israeli air strikes on houses in Gaza City.
Israeli attacks ‘will not let up’ amid ceasefire efforts
Al Jazeera’s Hani Mahmoud, reporting from Deir El Bala in central Gaza, said the deadly attack came amid a “deepening humanitarian crisis”.
“There are no basic supplies available, markets have dried up, and the crisis continues to evolve in a devastating way,” he added, while Israeli shelling “does not stop.”
There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military, which has killed at least 44,805 people and wounded 106,257 in attacks on Gaza over the past 14 months.
Israel launched a ferocious military operation on October 7, 2023, after an attack led by the Palestinian militant group Hamas killed an estimated 1,139 people in Israel and captured more than 200.
The new attacks come as efforts move toward a ceasefire in Egypt.
Israeli Defense Minister Yisrael Katz told US Defense Minister Lloyd Austin on Wednesday that an agreement to release the remaining prisoners held in Gaza is “possible at this time.”
“There is now an opportunity for a new contract,” Katz told Austin over the phone, AFP reported.
Meanwhile, US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan is scheduled to travel to Israel this week to discuss a ceasefire agreement in Gaza.
National Security Council spokesman Sean Savet said Sullivan met with Israeli officials to discuss “the efforts to release the hostages in Gaza and reach a cease-fire agreement, the latest developments in Syria, and discussions on Lebanon and Iran.” He said he plans to discuss it.
