Gaza Strip (Palestinian Territories) (AFP) – Dozens of people were killed in bombings in the Gaza Strip early Friday by the Israeli army, which is waging a tough offensive against the Islamist Hamas in the Palestinian territory.
First change: January 12, 2024 – 4:58 p.m. Last change: January 12, 2024 – 5:49 p.m
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An AFP journalist reported several attacks and artillery strikes in Khan Younis and Rafah, two southern Gaza towns where many displaced people who have fled fighting in the northern Gaza Strip are concentrated.
The overnight bombings left at least 59 people dead and dozens injured, according to the health ministry in Gaza, a territory ruled by Hamas since 2007.
The Israeli army said it killed seven “terrorists” in a bomb attack in Khan Younis and another 20 people died in the Maghazi area.
AFP photographers saw a cloud of black smoke over Rafah on Friday morning, where Palestinian civilians in white bags gathered around the dead.
“There are widowed women, orphaned children. Is there someone who cares about us? Why is everyone silent?” asked a young man in front of the Najjar Hospital.
Elsewhere in Rafah, Fayad Abu Rjeila looks at the remains of a building destroyed by an Israeli bombardment that this resident claims killed thousands of civilians.
“They weren’t involved in anything. They were people who just wanted to live,” he lamented to AFP. “Why did they attack her?”
The conflict in Gaza erupted after Hamas launched an unprecedented bloody attack on Israeli territory on October 7, killing nearly 1,140 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.
In the northern Gaza Strip, Al Shifa, the largest hospital in the Palestinian territory that suffered significant damage from the conflict, partially resumed operations, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported, providing the center with fuel and medical supplies.
© 2024 AFP