Jerusalem, Jan 13 (EFE).- At least 135 Gazans were killed over the past day due to Israeli bombings on the Gaza Strip, mainly targeting the Khan Yunis area in the south, which is currently experiencing a new communications blackout.
Since the beginning of the war between the Islamist militant group Hamas and Israel, the toll stands at nearly 23,850 killed and over 60,300 injured in Gaza.
The actual number could be higher, with an estimated 8,000 bodies buried under the rubble of buildings destroyed by Israeli bombings.
The Palestinian health ministry, controlled by Hamas, condemned the killings.
“The crimes of genocide committed by the Israeli occupation in the Gaza Strip make this war the most criminal and bloody in history. One in 20 Gazans is a martyr, injured, or missing.”
The government said the Israeli air forces allegedly launched a “ring of fire” over several neighborhoods in the southern city of Khan Younis, a Hamas stronghold where its leader, Yahya Sinwar, is believed to be hiding.
Wafa news agency reported that several wounded people were taken to Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis following the intense Israeli bombing.
While attacks in the northern half of the enclave have decreased in recent weeks, an Israeli airstrike on a home in the Daraj neighborhood of Gaza City killed at least 20 people on Friday night.
Israeli strikes also hit targets in the center of the strip, and artillery shells landed near the Nuseirat and Maghazi refugee camps in the Deir al-Balah area.
“Israeli warplanes bombed several houses in the al-Dawa neighborhood of Nuseirat, in the center of the strip, killing dozens of people and wounding others. There are people missing under the rubble,” Wafa reported.
In Rafah, at least 10 civilians, including children, were killed and dozens wounded in an overnight Israeli airstrike that targeted a house housing displaced people.
Communication and internet services were completely cut off for the second day amid the ongoing Israeli military campaign.
The Palestinian Red Crescent announced a complete loss of communication with its teams working in the Gaza Strip, increasing the difficulties faced by its workers in providing ambulance services and reaching the wounded. EFE
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