Hospitals in Gaza City reported a devastating toll on Wednesday, with over 60 Palestinians killed by Israeli strikes and gunfire since midnight. First responders indicated that at least 20 individuals, including women and children, perished when a building and surrounding tents sheltering displaced families were hit in a pre-dawn strike near Firas market in the city’s Daraj neighborhood.
The Israeli military stated that it targeted two Hamas fighters and that the reported casualty figures did not align with their information. Meanwhile, Israeli tanks and troops have advanced further into Gaza City, which Israel identifies as Hamas’s final stronghold. The IDF Chief of Staff emphasized the operation’s aim to secure hostage releases and achieve Hamas’s “decisive defeat,” urging Gazan residents to disengage from Hamas, which he holds responsible for the ongoing suffering.
Witnesses described Israeli tanks entering the Tel al-Hawa and Rimal areas of Gaza City. The Palestinian Red Crescent reported damage to an oxygen station at al-Quds hospital following Israeli gunfire, though the IDF stated no direct strike was made on the hospital and an investigation is underway.
International journalists are currently unable to independently access Gaza, making independent verification of these reports challenging. However, video footage emerging from the site showed individuals retrieving a body from the rubble. Relatives of the deceased expressed their grief and devastation, describing a scene of utter destruction. Hamas’s military wing has warned that the expanding offensive in Gaza City could endanger the remaining hostages, believed to be around 48, with approximately 20 potentially still alive.
The UN and humanitarian organizations have raised concerns about the escalating civilian casualties and the destruction of vital infrastructure, highlighting the dire humanitarian conditions and the potential for permanent displacement. The UN’s human rights office has criticized the IDF’s tactics and statements, suggesting they aim to instill fear and force civilians to leave northern Gaza. The ongoing conflict stems from the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, which resulted in approximately 1,200 deaths and the taking of 251 hostages. Since then, Gaza’s health ministry reports at least 65,419 fatalities.