GAZA CITY, Palestine: Israeli airstrikes on Friday killed at least 44 Palestinians and wounded dozens more, targeting schools sheltering displaced families, tents, and civilians awaiting aid, according to medical sources and witnesses, Anadolu Ajansi (AA) reported.
In the latest attacks, at least 15 people were killed and around 250 others injured in an Israeli strike on a gathering of civilians waiting for aid trucks near the Zikim area, north of Beit Lahia in northern Gaza.
Shortly before that, two Palestinians were killed in an Israeli airstrike that targeted a house near Abu Habib junction in the Zeitoun neighbourhood, southeast of Gaza City.
One of the deadliest attacks targeted Al-Qahira School in Gaza City, where thousands of displaced civilians had sought shelter.
Medical sources confirmed that five people were killed in the strike, including a child, while 10 others were injured, some critically.
Among the wounded were children, one of whom arrived at Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City with an amputated arm.
Witnesses said the school, packed with displaced families seeking refuge, was targeted directly.
Elsewhere in the city, two Palestinians were killed and three others injured in a strike targeting a civilian gathering in the Zeitoun neighbourhood, southeast of Gaza City.
Medical sources told Anadolu that a Palestinian waiting for humanitarian aid in Rafah, southern Gaza, was shot dead by Israeli forces.
In Gaza City, Israeli strikes killed four Palestinians in Al-Tuffah and Al-Rimal neighbourhoods, targeting civilian gatherings and a school sheltering displaced people.
Witnesses reported panic as families fled the scenes.
Multiple Israeli airstrikes across Gaza killed at least ten Palestinians and wounded several others.
Fatalities were reported in Gaza City, Jabalia, Beit Lahia, and Khan Younis, with some victims succumbing to injuries from earlier attacks.
Medical teams also recovered additional bodies in eastern Khan Younis.
Rejecting international calls for a ceasefire, the Israeli army has pursued a brutal offensive on Gaza since 7 October 2023, killing more than 59,600 Palestinians, most of them women and children.
Deaths by starvation have climbed in recent days due to a months-long blockade and poor distribution of aid by the controversial Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. – BERNAMA-ANADOLU
