Dozens killed in Israeli strikes on Gaza City, says Hamas

Palestinians search for casualties in Gaza City. CNN
Palestinians search for casualties in Gaza City. Credit: CNN

At least 39 people have been killed and many more injured by Israeli strikes across northern Gaza, according to Hamas officials.

The areas hit were the al-Shati refugee camp in the west of Gaza City and a building in the east of the city.

Israel said its fighter jets struck two Hamas military sites in the Gaza City area but did not elaborate further.

Dozen of bodies have been taken to the al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza City and many more people are injured, said hospital director Fadel Naem.

At least 14 people are still missing and emergency workers are continuing to dig for survivors, according to the Hamas-controlled Government Media Office.

A medical rescue worker in the area said the airstrike at the al-Shati camp felt like an “earthquake.”

“There are entire families under the destroyed houses,” they said.

Local resident Abu Mahmoud Al-Karir said: "As you can see, an entire block has been obliterated. Tall buildings were levelled to the ground, now buried under the earth.”

Palestinians search for casualties at the site of Israeli strikes on houses in Gaza City on 22 June. Credit: CNN

It comes after the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said at least 22 people were killed in a strike that hit civilians sheltering in southern Gaza on Friday.

The strike hit the tents of displaced people in the Palestinian town of Mawasi, parts of which have been identified by the Israeli military as a humanitarian zone.

The ICRC said its office adjacent to the humanitarian area in Mawasi was damaged by nearby shelling.

It did not attribute blame for the shelling, but said that “firing so dangerously close to humanitarian structures puts the lives of civilians and humanitarians at risk.”

It said “heavy-caliber projectiles” had landed within meters of the facility and the nearby Red Cross field hospital had received 22 bodies and 45 injured.

In a statement Isreal said: “Following an initial inquiry, there was no direct attack carried out by the IDF against a Red Cross facility. The incident will be quickly examined and its findings will be presented to our international partners.”

Israel has been intensifying its operation in nearby Rafah, where it launched an offensive last month as part of its campaign to dismantle Hamas in Gaza.

Israel launched its offensive in Gaza following the Hamas attacks of 7 October , which killed around 1,200 people.


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