At least 34 people were killed across Gaza by Israeli strikes on Friday night and Saturday morning, local health staff said, as Palestinians face a growing humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
One strike reportedly killed 12 people at the Palestine Stadium in Gaza City, which was sheltering displaced people, and eight more living in apartments, according to staff at Shifa Hospital, where the bodies were brought.
Six others were killed in southern Gaza when a strike hit their tent in Muwasi, according to the hospital.
Hospitals in Gaza are controlled by the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry, which typically provides data on casualties in the coastal enclave. Its figures, however, cannot be independently verified.
The military has yet to comment on the strikes, which came a day after IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir said that the military’s latest offensive in Gaza will soon “reach the lines” defined by the government.
By declaring that the military was in sight of achieving its goals, analysts said that Zamir was signaling to the government the need to decide whether to move forward with a hostage-ceasefire deal or prepare for the IDF to establish military rule in the Strip.
Meanwhile, on Friday night, a rocket launched from the central Gaza Strip was intercepted by air defenses, the military said.
No sirens sounded in towns, but an alert was activated in open areas near the border. The IDF said no injuries were caused.
After the rocket fire, the IDF’s Arabic spokesperson issued an evacuation warning for residents in parts of the central Gaza Strip, instructing them to head southward ahead of military operations in the area.
The statement said the IDF will employ intensive firepower “to destroy the capabilities of terrorist organizations in these areas, and will attack any area used for launching rockets.”
Meanwhile, Palestinians are enduring a dire humanitarian situation in Gaza.
The war broke out on October 7, 2023, when Hamas-led terrorists invaded Israel, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and kidnapping 251.
The Hamas-run Gaza health ministry says more than 53,000 people in the Strip have been killed or are presumed dead in the fighting so far, though the toll cannot be verified and does not differentiate between civilians and fighters. Israel says it has killed some 20,000 combatants in battle as of January and another 1,600 terrorists inside Israel during the October 7 onslaught.
Israel has said it seeks to minimize civilian fatalities and stresses that Hamas uses Gaza’s civilians as human shields, fighting from civilian areas, including homes, hospitals, schools, and mosques.