Israeli airstrikes target residential areas in Gaza, leaving hundreds dead

Images and videos from Jabalia refugee camp show badly damaged buildings as rescue workers search with their bare hands for survivors

Muslim Network TV Desk with inputs from agencies

GAZA, Palestine – Israeli airstrikes on homes in the Jabalia camp in Gaza have killed at least 100 people, most of the victims are from the same families, including women and children.

The director of Gaza’s Civil Defense reported that the camp was “completely destroyed.”

The latest images and videos from the Jabalia refugee camp show badly damaged buildings as rescue workers and volunteers search with their bare hands for survivors in the huge amounts of concrete rubble.

Members of the Civil Defense were seen searching for survivors on the ground. An aerial view of the area shows tall buildings completely leveled to the ground.

“These buildings house hundreds of citizens. The occupying air force destroyed this neighborhood with six American-made bombs. This is the latest massacre caused by the Israeli aggression in the Gaza Strip,” Civil Defense spokesman Iyad al-Bazum told reporters outside a hospital in Khan Younis.

He said about 400 people were either dead or wounded.

“These buildings house hundreds of citizens. The occupying air force destroyed this neighborhood with six American-made bombs. This is the latest massacre caused by the Israeli aggression against the Gaza Strip,” government official Ahmad al-Kahlout told reporters from Gaza.

The airstrikes also hit areas in Rafah and the central Gaza Strip, killing 15 people.

Meanwhile, Israeli tanks are pushing deeper into the Gaza Strip, engaging in heavy fighting and advancing into residential areas. They are moving toward the coastal road that separates the north and south of the city.

The Palestinian group Hamas said its fighters killed an Israeli soldier and destroyed several armored vehicles in the Gaza Strip.

“Our fighters engaged in skirmishes with Israeli forces northwest of Gaza City,” the group’s armed wing, the Al-Qassam Brigades, said in a statement.

The group said its fighters also destroyed three armored vehicles in the northern Gaza Strip and another vehicle east of the Erez crossing with tank shells and explosive devices.

Al-Qassam Brigades also released video footage of clashes between its fighters and Israeli forces that occurred Sunday near the crossing in the northern Gaza Strip.

The Israeli army said Tuesday that some 240 Israelis are being held by the Palestinian group Hamas in the Gaza Strip and that 315 soldiers have been killed since Oct. 7, when the Israeli-Palestinian conflict degenerated into open fighting.

Military spokesman Daniel Hagari said the families of the 240 hostages have been informed of their captivity in Gaza.

“The number is not yet final as the military is reviewing new information,” he told reporters.

The new figure does not include four hostages released by Hamas.

Hagari said 315 soldiers have been killed since the Gaza war broke out Oct. 7.

The executive director of the U.N. Children’s Fund announced that more than 420 children are killed or injured daily in Gaza.

According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, at least 8,525 people have died in Gaza since October 7, including 3,542 children and 2,187 women.

About 2,000 people are still missing, most of whom are believed to be buried under rubble.

In addition, at least 21,543 people were injured with varying degrees of severity.

West Bank violence

In the occupied West Bank, Israeli forces shot dead an elderly man in the town of Tubas, making him the second Palestinian killed in less than an hour.

With these incidents, the number of violent attacks continues to rise: Since October 7, at least 124 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank and East Jerusalem in the past 25 days.

According to media reports, Israel’s Shin Bet security service has warned the Israeli government of an “explosion” of potential violence as settler attacks increase in the West Bank.

On the other hand, Yemen’s Houthi group has claimed responsibility for an airstrike on Israel.

Amnesty International has accused Israel of unlawfully using white phosphorus in Lebanon, calling it a possible war crime.

International response

In his speech to the Nordic Council in Norway, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg condemned the Hamas attack but said that Israel must respect international law in its response.

“We condemn Hamas’ terrorist attacks against Israel,” Stoltenberg said.

“At the same time, it is important that Israel’s response is within the framework of international law, that civilian lives are protected, and that humanitarian aid reaches Gaza.”

Stoltenberg’s remarks follow comments by Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide that Israel may not have respected international law in its bombardment of Gaza.

Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly, on a visit to the Sinai region bordering Israel and the besieged Gaza Strip, said his country would not allow anything to be “imposed” on the region.

Madbouly’s remarks, made during a visit to a military base, apparently referred to Israeli proposals to relocate the Palestinian population of the Gaza Strip to the Sinai.

“We are ready to sacrifice millions of lives for every grain of sand here,” Madbouly said, adding, “Egypt will never allow anything to be imposed on it.”

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian will visit Türkiye on Wednesday, according to the Turkish Foreign Ministry on Tuesday.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan will meet Abdollahian and the two will discuss the situation in Palestine as well as current regional developments and bilateral relations, the ministry added.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov discussed the situation in the Middle East with his Saudi counterpart Faysal bin Farhan Al Saud on Tuesday, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

The two diplomats also discussed cooperation within the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) format.

China has accused Israel of turning a deaf ear to the international community’s calls for a humanitarian cease-fire in Gaza.

“Regrettably and unacceptably,” China’s U.N. Ambassador Zhang Jun told the U.N. Security Council on Monday, “Israel has chosen to further escalate its military operations in Gaza and officially announce the start of a ground assault, turning a deaf ear to the shared concerns of the international community

Zhang was referring to a UN General Assembly resolution passed last Friday calling for an immediate and lasting humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza that would lead to a cessation of hostilities.

Brazil, which currently chairs the Security Council, hosted another meeting on Palestine on Monday at the request of the United Arab Emirates and China

“China solemnly calls on Israel, as the occupying power, to fulfill its obligations under international humanitarian law, lift the complete siege of Gaza, immediately withdraw the evacuation order, and swiftly restore the supply of essential goods to prevent an even greater humanitarian disaster,” the Chinese ambassador said, according to an official transcript.

He said the decades-long history of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict has “taught us that military means are not a solution”

“China solemnly calls on a certain major country with special influence over the parties concerned to put aside its self-interest and geopolitical considerations and make every effort to end the war and restore peace,” Zhang said.