45 martyred by Israeli forces in refugee camp in northern Gaza.
GAZA/JERUSALEM - Dozens of Palestinian civilians were martyred with others wounded after a series of Israel air raids across the Gaza Strip on Sunday, according to the official Palestinian news agency, WAFA.
WAFA reported that 45 civilians were killed in the Jabalya refugee camp in northern Gaza on Sunday after Israel launched “violent air raids” that targeted a house. The news agency says several people are still missing, buried under the rubble.
Nine more civilians were killed in a residential square in Jabalya al-Balad, according to WAFA. Meanwhile, in southern Gaza, the city of Khan Younis has come under “a series of airstrikes and artillery shelling on a number of areas,” on Sunday, according to WAFA.
About 600 Israel Defence Force (IDF) personnel have been wounded since the ground invasion began on October 27, the IDF said Sunday, adding that they were rescued from the strip in approximately 300 helicopter evacuations.
In total, almost 1,600 soldiers in total have been wounded since Israel began its war in Gaza in response to the October 7 Hamas attack, according to the latest figures.
On Saturday, the Israeli military announced that the total number of IDF soldiers that have died since the conflict began is now 96, after four more were killed.
About 17,700 people have been martyred in Gaza since the war began, according to the Hamas-run Ministry of Health in Gaza. Israeli national security adviser Tzachi Hanegbi estimated Saturday that at least 7,000 of the dead were Hamas fighters.
WAFA reported that in the northern and eastern parts of Khan Younis, Israel “targeted homes in which residents were sheltering, killing dozens and wounding hundreds.”
Hospitals have also faced increased pressure in Khan Younis, with medical sources telling WAFA that wounded people arriving at the Nasser Medical Complex are having to lay on the ground because there are “no beds, medicines, and medical supplies available for them.” WAFA said the vicinity of the Gaza European Hospital in Khan Younis has been bombed, with Israeli attacks occurring through Saturday night and during the day on Sunday.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claims that dozens of Hamas members have surrendered to Israeli forces in recent days, which he says shows the failure of Hamas and its fight against Israel.
“In the past few days, dozens of Hamas (men) have surrendered before our forces. They put down their weapons and turn themselves over to our brave fighters,” Netanyahu says in a video statement.
“It will take more time, the war is still in full force, but this is the beginning of the end of Hamas,” he adds. “I say to the terrorists of Hamas: It’s over. Don’t die for [Yahya] Sinwar. Surrender — now.”
A senior IDF officer says that in recent days the military has identified “signs of Hamas breaking” in the Gaza Strip, as it continues its offensive against the terror group.
“The extent of the destruction and damage creates command and control problems [for Hamas]. There are areas in the Gaza Strip that Hamas no longer controls militarily,” the officer says.
“Despite the achievements, we are not close to the end of the fighting. We continue to operate with great intensity, and work to dismantle entire battalions of Hamas,” he says, adding that about half of the 24 Hamas battalion commanders have been eliminated in airstrikes and other operations.
The military estimates that some 7,000 Hamas operatives have been martyred in the Gaza Strip.
The IDF in a statement says it has struck more than 22,000 targets in the Gaza Strip since the beginning of the war, 3,500 of them since the end of the ceasefire on December 1.
The strikes were carried out by the Air Force, Navy and ground troops. The targets have included Hamas infrastructure, including tunnels, weapons depots, command centers, and rocket launchers, as well as terror operatives.
The IDF says it is currently battling Hamas in northern Gaza’s Jabaliya, Shejaiya, and Beit Hanoun, and in Khan Younis in southern Gaza.
ATTACK FROM LEBANON WOUNDS SEVERAL ISRAELI SOLDIERS
Several Israeli soldiers were wounded in northern Israel by fire from Lebanon, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement.
“Following the sirens that sounded in the western Galilee area in northern Israel, suspicious aerial targets that crossed from Lebanon into Israeli territory were identified and two targets were successfully intercepted by the IDF Aerial Defense Array,” IDF said.
“Two IDF soldiers were moderately injured, and a number of additional soldiers were lightly injured from shrapnel and smoke inhalation. The soldiers were evacuated to the hospital to receive medical treatment, and their families have been notified,” IDF added.
Early on Sunday, Hezbollah claimed on social media to target an Israeli “command headquarters” in the western Galilee from south Lebanon with drones, saying the attack was “in support of our steadfast Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip.”
Thousands of Israelis were evacuated from communities close to the Lebanese border last month, with crossfire and clashes between Israeli troops and Hezbollah fighters intensifying across the border.