Dozens of Palestinians have been killed in ongoing Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip, Palestinian news agency WAFA reported on Sunday.
The bodies of 41 people have been brought to various hospitals in the embattled coastal strip since Sunday morning, WAFA said.
The Israeli military stated that it was continuing its operations against terrorist organizations throughout the Gaza Strip. The offensive in Gaza City had also been expanded, it said.
In one instance, Israeli troops reportedly identified five militants who fired an anti-tank missile at the building where the soldiers were located. There were no injuries among the soldiers, according to the military.
The Israeli Air Force “eliminated” the attackers, it said. Within 24 hours, around 140 military targets in the coastal strip were attacked, it added.
New call for evacuation of Gaza neighbourhoods
Meanwhile, the Israeli army spokesman called on residents of various neighbourhoods in Gaza City to leave immediately. They were advised in Arabic to move to the Israeli-designated humanitarian zone of al-Mawasi in the south-west of the Gaza Strip.
The spokesman announced an attack on another high-rise building in Gaza City, stating that infrastructure of the Islamist organization Hamas was located there. Shortly afterwards, the military reported that the building had been destroyed.
According to the Israeli military, around 780,000 civilians have already fled Gaza City, where an estimated 1 million people were present before the ground offensive began two weeks ago.
Since the beginning of the Gaza war almost two years ago, more than 66,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have been killed in the Gaza Strip, according to the Hamas-run health authority.
The trigger for the war was attacks carried out by Hamas and other extremist organizations in Israel, in which around 1,200 people were killed on October 7, 2023, and more than 250 others were abducted as hostages to the Gaza Strip.
Hamas demands Israel halt attacks, warns hostages’ lives at risk
Hamas urgently called on the Israeli army to cease its attacks on Gaza City for 24 hours.
The lives of two Israeli hostages are in real danger, according to a statement from the military wing of Hamas, the al-Qassam Brigades.
The troops must also immediately withdraw to an area south of Street 8 in Gaza City so that an attempt can be made to “extract” the two hostages. This, they said, is a warning.
The demand for a halt to the attacks was to take effect from 6 pm (1500 GMT), the statement said.
The al-Qassam Brigades had earlier stated that contact with the two hostages had been lost in the last 48 hours due to the intense Israeli attacks in the city.
It was initially unclear whether Israel would comply with the demand.
The relatives of the 48 remaining hostages – including 20 still alive – have repeatedly warned of the danger a ground offensive in Gaza City poses to their loved ones.
A firefighter sprays water on a building damaged in an Israeli air strike. Hasan Alzaanin/TASS via ZUMA Press/dpa