By Palestine Chronicle Staff  

“A number of victims are still under rubble and on the roads, and ambulance and civil defense crews cannot reach them.”

At least 31 Palestinians have been killed in the latest Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip, raising the overall death toll since October last year to 45,059, the Health Ministry said on Tuesday.

The Israeli occupation committed three massacres of families in Gaza, resulting in “31 martyrs and 79 injuries during the past 24 hours,” the Ministry said in a statement on Tuesday.

Multiple injuries among children were reported due to an Israeli airstrike targeting a gathering of civilians on Al-Nafaq Street in northern Gaza City. pic.twitter.com/jqLAs1taKN

— Quds News Network (@QudsNen) December 17, 2024

“A number of victims are still under rubble and on the roads, and ambulance and civil defense crews cannot reach them,” the statement added.

The death toll has risen to 45,059 killed and 107,041 injuries since October 7, 2023, the Ministry said.

Displaced Targeted

On Tuesday afternoon, at least one Palestinian was reported killed and several others injured in an Israeli airstrike which targeted a gathering of civilians near the Al-Tabe’een School in northern Gaza City, the Quds News Network (QNN) reported.

Earlier more than 15 Palestinians were killed in another deadly airstrike on a house sheltering displaced families in Beit Lahia, northern Gaza.

Updates, Mawasi (coastal area) of Rafah. pic.twitter.com/2Jzwxb5SEE

— Wizard Bisan (@Wizard__Bisan) December 17, 2024

 

The Al-Mawasi area, west of Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, came under intense Israeli military assault since the early hours of Tuesday, reported QNN.

Israeli forces launched a ground invasion, advancing with military vehicles while continuing heavy airstrikes and artillery shelling across the territory, according to the report, resulting in the killing of several civilians, numerous injuries, and the arrest of dozens.

Local sources reported that the sounds of Israeli military vehicles were audible from the western part of Rafah, with additional armored units advancing towards the Bardawil area, reported QNN.

Civil defense teams later managed to retrieve casualties who were shot by Israeli tanks in the area.

Kamal Adwan Hospital

At the Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza,  Israeli military snipers have targeted the intensive care unit, the hospital’s director said on Monday.

Director of Kamal Adwan Hospital, Dr. Hussam Abu Saffiya, calls on the International Community and the WHO to intervene and protect the hospital after Israeli snipers targeted the ICU staff and electricity went down due to an Israeli attack on the power generators. pic.twitter.com/syzZ8L8vTo

— PALESTINE ONLINE 🇵🇸 (@OnlinePalEng) December 17, 2024

“Anyone moving around the hospital wards was at risk of being hit, creating a very dangerous situation for patients and staff,” said Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya, the hospital’s director.

On Monday, Israeli warplanes also launched raids on the northern neighborhoods of Rafah in southern Gaza.

A spokesperson for Gaza’s Civil Defense, Major Mahmoud Basal, confirmed to Al-Jazeera that four schools housing displaced Palestinians were attacked on Sunday alone.

ICJ Genocide Trial

Currently on trial before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) for genocide against Palestinians, Israel has been waging a devastating war on Gaza since October 7, 2023.

Israel says that 1,200 soldiers and civilians were killed during the Al-Aqsa Flood Operation on October 7. However, Israeli media published reports suggesting that many Israelis were killed on that day by ‘friendly fire’.

Nearly 70 Dead in Gaza – Schools Sheltering Displaced Hit by Israeli Airstrikes

Palestinian and international organizations say that the majority of those killed and wounded are women and children.

The Israeli war has resulted in an acute famine resulting in the death of many Palestinians, mostly children.

The Israeli aggression has also resulted in the forceful displacement of nearly two million people from all over the Gaza Strip, with the vast majority of the displaced forced into the densely crowded southern region.

(PC, QNN, Anadolu)