Israeli forces bombarded Gaza early Monday (8) and tanks advanced into the city center from different directions, in what residents said was one of the heaviest attacks on the Palestinian territory since the start of the war.
Gaza’s Civil Emergency Service said it believed dozens of people had been killed, but emergency teams were unable to reach them due to ongoing offensives in Daraj and Tuffah in the east and Tel Al-Hawa, Sabra and Rimal further west.
Residents said neighborhoods in Gaza City, which lies north of the Gaza Strip, were shelled throughout the night and into the early hours of the morning. Several buildings were destroyed, they added.
An Israeli tank pushed people onto the western road near the Mediterranean, residents said.
“The enemy is behind us and the sea is in front of us, where will we go?” said Abdel-Ghani, a Gaza City resident who did not give his full name.
“Tank shells and plane missiles are falling on the roads and houses like the inferno of a volcano. People are running in all directions and no one knows where to go,” Abdel-Ghani told Reuters via messaging app.
The Israeli military said in a statement that it was mounting an operation against militant infrastructure in the Gaza Strip and had taken out more than 30 fighters.
The new Israeli offensive comes as Egypt, Qatar and the United States have stepped up efforts to broker a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas as the Gaza war enters its 10th month.
The war was triggered on October 7 when Hamas-led fighters attacked southern Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking about 250 hostages, according to Israeli figures.
More than 38,000 Palestinians have been killed in the Israeli military offensive since then, according to Gaza health officials.
Source: CNN Brasil
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