At least 65 people, including women and children, were killed in night-time strikes by the Israeli army on various areas of the Gaza Strip, the Palestinian health ministry said on Wednesday.
The strikes targeted residential buildings in the southern and northern parts of the enclave. Refugee camps located in various areas of the Gaza Strip were also attacked.
According to medical sources, the bodies of the dead and wounded were taken to Al-Awda Hospital and the Indonesian Hospital. Some of the dead are reported to remain under the rubble.
Civil defence teams are continuing search and rescue operations despite a severe shortage of equipment and resources.
Local sources say that most of the victims are members of the al-Najjar, al-Suwailim and Qattan families. Hospital morgues are overflowing.
Netanyahu says Israeli army will enter Gaza “with full force” in coming days
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israel will “with full force” begin to complete its military operation in the Gaza Strip in the coming days, which will mean the defeat of the radical Hamas movement.
“In the coming days, we will proceed with full force to complete the operation in the Gaza Strip. Completing the operation means destroying Hamas,” he said.
Netanyahu added that Israel would take Israeli hostages if Hamas wanted to release them, but would continue its military operation regardless. He also noted that “there will be no such thing as Israel stopping the war,” while not ruling out the possibility of a temporary truce.
US President Donald Trump said on May 12 that the release by the Palestinian group Hamas of Israeli soldier Eden Alexander, who also has American citizenship, was “one of the last steps” needed to end Israel’s conflict with the movement.
