Israel bombards southern Gaza as UN warns fuel shortage will stop aid work, world leaders seek pause in fighting
- Officials in Gaza said dozens more people had been killed in the south, where hundreds of thousands fled after Israel warned them it would attack the north
- The main UN aid agency in Gaza warned that it would have to halt operations by the end of Wednesday because it is running out of fuel
Israel’s military intensified its bombing of southern Gaza overnight after one of the deadliest days for Palestinians since the conflict began, amid international calls for a pause in fighting to let aid into the enclave and prevent many more deaths.
Health officials in Gaza said on Wednesday that dozens more people had been killed in the south, where hundreds of thousands fled after Israel warned them it would attack the north in its bid to wipe out Hamas militants who mounted a killing spree in Israel on October 7.
One strike brought down several residential buildings in Khan Younis. “This is something not normal, we have not heard something like this before,” resident Khader Abu Odah said.
Palestinian anger over the killings has been increased by a sense of betrayal as many of those who obeyed the order to move south are also being killed. The Israeli military says that Hamas, which rules Gaza, has entrenched itself among the civilian population everywhere.
Israel said strikes on Gaza over the previous 24 hours had eliminated Hamas operatives including the head of the Hamas battalion for southern Khan Younis, Tayseer Bebasher.
Tunnel shafts, command centres, weapons caches and launch positions were targeted, as well as a cell of Hamas divers trying to enter Israel by sea near Kibbutz Zikim, the military added.