At least 55 people were killed across the Gaza Strip on Wednesday after a fresh round of Israeli strikes, local officials say-another brutal day in a conflict that keeps dragging on.
Mahmoud Basal, a spokesman for Gaza’s Civil Defense, told Xinhua that one of the deadliest blows hit warehouses run by the Gaza Municipality in eastern Gaza City. Those buildings were sheltering dozens of displaced families. Basal said rescue teams are still digging through the rubble to pull out victims. An eyewitness, Anwar Ershi, described “a massive explosion” in the early hours that left several bodies buried under debris.
There wasn’t an immediate response from the Israeli military about that strike. Basal also reported more deaths across the city and elsewhere: 15 people killed in Al-Sahaba, Shuja’iyya and the Shati refugee camp, and six in an attack on the Nuseirat camp in central Gaza. In the south, 12 people died in Khan Younis -and Gaza authorities say eight of them were shot while trying to get food outside an aid distribution point south of the city.
On the ground, Israeli tanks have pushed into several neighborhoods – Al-Sabra and Tal al-Hawa in the south, and Al-Nasr and Sheikh Radwan in the north – with artillery fire and gun battles reported. Local witnesses say Israeli forces have even been detonating military vehicles packed with explosives, a tactic that has smashed nearby homes and caused widespread damage.
Israeli public radio Kan said the army has widened its northern operations over the past two days and suggested those moves could split the northern Gaza Strip into two, creating a new front line across the enclave.
In response to the repeated attacks, Hamas urged countries around the world to isolate Israel – legally, politically and economically calling for a comprehensive boycott. That call came a day after Spain announced a full arms embargo on Israel in reaction to the ongoing fighting.
Civilians keep bearing the cost: towns shattered, families uprooted, and rescue teams racing against time. The violence and its ripple effects show no sign of stopping.