Israeli strikes on Gaza City kill dozens, Hamas says
According to Hamas, two Israeli airstrikes on buildings in Gaza City have resulted in at least 38 deaths and several injuries.
Initial reports in the Israeli media stated that the bombings were intended to kill a high-ranking Hamas commander.
38 people were killed in the strikes that struck the al-Tuffah district and the al-Shati neighborhood, also known as Beach camp. Ismail Al-Thawabta, the director of the government media office managed by Hamas, said that both areas saw large explosions. According to earlier accounts, 42 people had died.
Several individuals are still under the rubble, according to the Civil Defense Directorate, after Israeli aircraft struck a home close to the Batsh cemetery in the Al Tuffah district east of Gaza City.
Numerous casualties were reported by emergency services earlier, with many of them being transported to Al-Ahli hospital.
The bombardment on the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) offices in Gaza on Friday, which the organization claimed killed 22 civilians who had taken cover around its property, was denounced by the EU, according to EU foreign policy leader Josep Borrell.
Mr. Borrell demanded that those in charge be held accountable and that an impartial inquiry be conducted.
Israel has stepped up its operations in adjacent Rafah, where it launched an incursion last month as part of its attempt to uproot Hamas in Gaza. According to a Gazan official, Israel's force is advancing farther into Rafah and approaching the coast.
