Gaza fighting rages, shellings damage Red Cross office
Brutal day as hospital reports 30 fatalities.
Daily TribuneBrutal day as hospital reports 30 fatalities.
A Palestinian child walks with a toy bear recovered from the rubble of a destroyed building following Israeli bombardment in Khan Yunis, southern Gaza
Eyad BABA / AFP
The Israeli army on Saturday continued to pound Gaza, after the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said 22 people were killed in shelling that damaged its office in the besieged Palestinian territory.
One hospital in Gaza City reported at least 30 dead on Friday.
Fighting continued Saturday morning, with witnesses reporting gun battles between militants and Israeli forces in Gaza City.
And in the city’s Zeitun neighborhood, Israeli helicopters fired at militants, witnesses said.
The Israeli military meanwhile said troops continued to carry out operations in central Gaza “eliminating several armed terrorists and dismantling terrorist infrastructure in the area.”
“Fighter jets and additional aircraft struck numerous terror targets in the Gaza Strip, including armed terrorists, weapons storage facilities, and additional terrorist infrastructure,” it added.
In southern Gaza, the ICRC on Friday said 22 dead and 45 wounded people were taken to a Red Cross field hospital after shelling with “heavy calibre projectiles” near its Gaza office.
“Firing so dangerously close to humanitarian structures puts the lives of civilians and humanitarians at risk,” the ICRC said on X.
The health ministry in the Hamas-run territory blamed the shelling on Israel, saying there were 25 killed and 50 wounded in the southern coastal Al-Mawasi area, where thousands of displaced people have been sheltering in tents.
An Israeli military spokesperson did not acknowledge any role in the incident but said it was “under review.”
In the north of the Strip, the director of Gaza City’s Al-Ahli hospital was quoted by the territory’s health ministry as reporting 30 dead in strikes.
“It has been a difficult and brutal day in Gaza City. So far, around 30 martyrs have arrived at the Al-Ahli Arab Hospital,” doctor Fadel Naeem was quoted as saying.
Civil defense agency spokesperson Mahmud Basal said five municipal workers died when a garage in the city was bombed.
Lebanon-based Hamas ally Hezbollah meanwhile claimed a number of attacks on Israeli troops and positions near the border on Friday, including two using drones.
