Over 21 killed as Israel intensifies offensive with airstrikes in Gaza City

Israeli forces ramped up their military campaign in the Gaza Strip on Thursday, launching intense airstrikes on historical refugee camps in the central region and hitting Gaza City in the north, resulting in at least 21 deaths. Meanwhile, tanks advanced further into Rafah in the southern part of the enclave, according to health officials and local residents.

The airstrikes targeted Zawayda, Bureij, Nuseirat camps, and the densely populated city of Deir-Al-Balah, causing 16 casualties, health officials reported. This city remains the final major urban area in Gaza not yet invaded by Israeli forces.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is slated to address the US Congress next week, made an unexpected visit to Israeli troops stationed near Rafah. He emphasised that the dual strategy of military pressure and demands for the return of 120 hostages held in Gaza is proving effective. "This combined approach is not delaying the negotiations; it’s actually advancing them," Netanyahu said in a statement from his office.

The Israeli military confirmed that it had killed two high-ranking Islamic Jihad commanders in separate airstrikes in Gaza City, including one involved in the October 7 attack in southern Israel that sparked the ongoing conflict. Palestinian medics reported that five people were killed in these targeted strikes.

In Rafah, local residents observed that Israeli tanks pushed deeper into the western part of the city, establishing positions on a prominent hilltop. The Israeli military reported finding several tunnels and eliminating several armed individuals.

At Al-Amal Hospital in Khan Younis, managed by the Palestinian Red Crescent Society, officials exhumed at least 12 bodies from graves on the hospital grounds for relocation. Reuters journalists observed medical staff carefully wrapping the exhumed bodies in white shrouds before transporting them to new burial sites, with distraught relatives looking on.

Areej Hamouda, grieving the loss of her son, clutched a handful of sandy earth from his grave and kissed it before medics removed the body. "They shot him while he was carrying a loaf of bread he had begged for his daughter. He was shot in the eye and the head - it rained on him, and he was covered in blood," Hamouda lamented through tears.