Children look on, as Palestinians inspect the damage at a tent camp sheltering displaced people, following an Israeli strike, amid the Israel-Hamas conflict, in Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip, December 15, 2024.
| Photo Credit: Reuters
“Israeli troops killed at least 22 Palestinians, most of them in the northern Gaza Strip, on Sunday (December 15, 2024) in airstrikes and other attacks on targets that included a school sheltering displaced Gazans,” medics and residents said.
They said at least 11 of the dead were killed in three separate Israeli airstrikes on Gaza City houses, nine were killed in the towns of Beit Lahiya, Beit Hanoun and Jabalia camp and two were killed by drone fire in Rafah.
Residents said clusters of houses were bombed and some set ablaze in the three towns. The Israeli Army has been operating in the towns for over two months.
Palestinians inspect the damage at a tent camp sheltering displaced people, following an Israeli strike, amid the Israel-Hamas conflict, in Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip, December 15, 2024.
| Photo Credit:
Reuters
The Israeli military said the three Gaza City houses belonged to militants planning imminent attacks. It said steps were taken to mitigate the risk of harming civilians beforehand, including the use of precise munitions and aerial surveillance.
The military issued a photo showing the weapons it said were seized in Beit Lahiya that included explosives and dozens of grenades.
“In Beit Hanoun, Israeli forces besieged families sheltering in Khalil Aweida school before storming it and ordering them to head towards Gaza City,” the medics and residents said.
Medics said several people were killed and wounded during the raid on the school while the Army detained many men. The number killed was not immediately clear.
The military said it struck down dozens of militants from the air and on the ground and captured others in Beit Hanoun.
Palestinians accuse Israel of carrying out ethnic cleansing to depopulate the areas at the northern edge to create a buffer zone. Israel denies it and says the campaign targets Hamas militants and aims to prevent them from regrouping. The military says it has instructed civilians to evacuate battle zones for their own safety.
The war began when the Palestinian militant group Hamas stormed into Israel on October 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking more than 250 hostages back to Gaza, according to Israeli authorities.
Israel then launched an air, sea and land offensive that has killed almost 45,000 people, mostly civilians, according to authorities in the Hamas-run Gaza Strip, displaced nearly the entire population and left much of the enclave in ruins.
A bid by Egypt, Qatar and the United States to reach a truce has gained momentum in recent weeks, yet there has been no news of a breakthrough.
Published – December 15, 2024 11:09 pm IST
