Gaza rescuers say Israeli air strikes in north kill at least 15
World
Gaza's civil defence agency said Israeli air strikes in north of territory killed at least 15 people
GAZA CITY (Palestinian Territories) (AFP) – Gaza's civil defence agency said Israeli air strikes in the north of the territory killed at least 15 people Thursday, as the military warned residents to leave the area.
Agency spokesman Mahmud Bassal said the strikes targeted several homes in Gaza City's Shujaiya neighbourhood.
"There are still a number of people trapped under the rubble," he said.
AFPTV footage from Al-Ahli hospital in the north of Gaza City showed mourners gathered around bodies laid on the floor wrapped in white shrouds.
Raed Jundia recounted surviving an Israeli strike on his home in Shujaiya.
"We were about 70 to 80 people inside the apartment when there was suddenly an explosion," he told AFP.
Ezz al-Arqan, another Gaza City resident, said: "Every day, we wake up to the sound of bombs, shells, and bullets. How long will this continue? Every day, we wake up to 20, 30 or 40 martyrs."
The Israeli military told residents to evacuate Shujaiya and some other districts in the Gaza's north.
"The IDF (military) is operating with great force in your areas to destroy the terrorist infrastructure," military spokesman Avichay Adraee said in a post on X.
"You must evacuate these areas immediately and move to the known shelters in western Gaza City."
The Israeli military has in recent days issued a number of evacuation orders to residents in northern neighbourhoods of the Gaza Strip.
On Monday, it told those living in all areas of the southern city of Rafah and parts of nearby Khan Yunis to leave.
"Currently in Rafah I can tell you that the majority of civilians have been evacuated," said military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Nadav Shoshani.
"Our goal eventually is to have an area where we can fight Hamas, where we can fight terrorists without them hiding behind civilians," he told journalists.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Wednesday that the military was "dissecting" Gaza and seizing territory to pressure Hamas into freeing hostages.
He said the army was "taking control of the 'Morag Axis'", a strip of land expected to run between the southern governorates of Khan Yunis and Rafah.
Shoshani, the Israeli military spokesman, said Thursday: "The Morag Route is for us an operational route that can give us an ability to act precisely against terror.
"We know the connection between Khan Yunis and Rafah is an important one for Hamas and we're operating to break that connection," he added.
The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said on Thursday that 1,163 people have been killed in the Palestinian territory since Israel resumed large-scale strikes on March 18.
That took the overall toll to at least 50,523 since the war began with Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, which resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.
