GAZA, Dec. 24 (Xinhua) — At least 70 Palestinians were killed in an Israeli airstrike on Al-Maghazi refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip today, Palestinian state television reported.
Ashraf al-Qedra, spokesman for Gaza's health ministry, said in a statement that the death toll was likely to rise because the airstrike took place in a crowded residential area.
The spokesman added that Israeli forces are shelling the main roads in the central region between the camps, preventing ambulances and civilian vehicles from reaching the attacked locations.
Local sources told Xinhua that most of the deceased were women and children and that it was currently difficult for local hospitals to admit more injured people.
The sources added that in addition to the Al-Maghazi refugee camp, the Israeli army also attacked the Al-Bureij refugee camp in the center of the Gaza Strip and the southern city of Khan Younis.
The latest count by the Ministry of Health in Gaza revealed today that the number of Palestinians killed in Israeli strikes has reached 20,424, while another 54,036 have been injured since the conflict began on October 7.
On the other hand, the Israeli army confirmed the deaths of 15 Israeli soldiers in Gaza last week, bringing the total number of Israeli soldiers killed during its ground offensive in Gaza launched in response to the Hamas incursion in October 154 increased 7, in which around 1,200 Israelis died and more than 200 people were taken hostage. End