More than 50 people are killed in Israeli strike on Gaza's Jabalia
refugee camp, Hamas claims: 'Dozens of bodies' are recovered after site
is reduced to giant crater as IDF forces hunt for hostages in the city
and target tunnels
An
intense blast has unleashed horror at the Jabalia refugee camp in
northern Gaza, where the Hamas-run health authority has claimed more
than 50 people have been killed and 150 wounded by an
Israeli strike.
Buildings
have been levelled in the densely-populated neighbourhood, opening up
huge sinkholes, with residents likening it to an earthquake and saying that the ground began to collapse around them.
Pictures
show apocalyptic scenes, with scores of distraught onlookers gathered
around two vast craters which some clambered into as they desperately
searched for any survivors.
Meanwhile,
dozens of white body bags have filled up the nearby streets, awaiting
burial at the hospital near the encampment. Israel's Defence Forces have
said they are looking into the incident.
'More
than 50 martyrs and around 150 wounded and dozens under the rubble, in a
heinous Israeli massacre that targeted a large area of homes in Jabalia
camp in the northern Strip,' a Gazan health ministry statement said.
If
confirmed, the number will increase an already mounting death toll in
Gaza - which Hamas earlier declared had topped 8,525. The majority of
those killed are thought to be civilians.
Jabalia
is the largest of the besieged enclave's eight refugee camps and is
densely populated - with 116,000 refugees registered there and residents
forced to live in crammed, substandard conditions, according to the United Nations.
Pictures show scores of onlookers
gathered around two vast craters, which some ventured into as they
desperately scrambled to find any survivors
Palestinians search for
casualties at the site of alleged Israeli strikes on houses in Jabalia
refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip
Meanwhile, dozens of white body
bags have filled up the nearby streets, awaiting burial at the
Indonesian hospital near the encampment
A distraught father carries an
injured child as dust fills the air following attacks on the Jabalia
refugee camp in northern Gaza
Palestinians search for casualties after houses in the Jabalia refugee camp were hit in the northern Gaza Strip
Gutted buildings are barely standing after a blast ripped through the Jabalia refugee camp
Palestinian residents of the camp carry casualties through the charred remains of buildings
Aerial photographs show scenes of utter devastation with high rise buildings ripped apart and flattened
Horrified onlookers gather around a huge crater in the Jabalia refugee camp, northern Gaza
A screen grab captured from a
video shared online shows people conducting search and rescue operation
under the debris of a destroyed building
Pictures of the site show
apocalyptic scenes as distraught onlookers and rescuers enter a sinkhole
to desperately dig through the rubble for any survivors
Plumes of smoke rise over Gaza amid continued Israeli bombardment of the strip three weeks after Hamas's October 7 attack
Multistorey buildings were reduced to rubble and dust, with people's belongings flung about by the force of the explosion
Crowds gathered around to see the devastation to the camp with their own eyes. The UN says 116,000 people are registered there
Numbers released by Hamas
cannot be independently verified. However, journalists on the ground in
Jabalia have reported seeing dozens of bodies, with more expected to be
trapped under the rubble.
Aerial
photographs show scenes of utter devastation with high rise buildings
ripped apart and flattened, with only charred debris remaining where
they once stood.
Agonised cries filled
the dusty air as volunteers clawed through the concrete blocks and
twisted metal in a desperate search for survivors and bodies.
Ragheb Aqal, a Jabalia resident, described the blasts as 'an earthquake' which shook the entire refugee camp.
'I
went and saw the destruction... homes buried under the rubble and body
parts and martyrs and wounded in huge numbers,' the 41-year-old told
AFP.
'There's no exaggerating when they talk about hundreds of martyrs and wounded.
People were still 'transporting the remains of children, women and elderly', he added.
A
spokesperson for the Palestinian Red Crescent told Al Jazeera that
emergency workers are still desperately trying to transfer casualties to
hospital following the attack.
A building is completely leveled
by suspected Israeli airstrikes, with Palestinian firefighters battling
blazes and rescuers searching the rubble for any signs of life
Devastated Palestinians assess the damage following a suspected Israeli airstrike on Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza
According to the UN, the camp is overcrowded and those living there have poor living conditions.
'Shelters
are built in close proximity to one another and there is a general lack
of recreational and social space. In many cases, residents have had to
add extra floors to their shelters to accommodate their families. Often,
these lack proper design. Many live in substandard conditions,' it
says.
Pictures from another refugee
camp, Nuseirat in central Gaza, show decimated buildings after what
Palestinian media claims was another Israeli strike.
It
comes after authorities in the Gaza Strip said the death toll had risen
to 8,525 since Israel launched its bombing campaign on October 7, which
would mean, as over recent weeks, that hundreds were killed in
overnight raids.
Israel today said it has killed 'dozens' of Hamas terrorists during
'fierce' fighting 'deep' inside Gaza with video showing soldiers
scouring the streets for the gunmen amid raging battles.
Israel
said its forces had fought Hamas gunmen inside the militants' vast
tunnel network today, attacking Hamas positions in a bid to free
hostages trapped there.
An Israeli tank is seen pushing through Gaza amid Israel's ground invasion on Tuesday
Israel is expanding
ground operations inside Gaza to wipe out Hamas following its gun
rampage three weeks ago that killed over 1,400 people.
In
the fifth day of major ground operations inside northern Gaza, the army
said it had engaged in 'fierce battles' with Hamas terrorists, with
footage showing columns of tanks and soldiers advancing further into the
besieged enclave.
The IDF said its
forces 'struck a Hamas terrorist outpost' in the northern Gaza Strip in
the last few hours where they killed 'dozens' of gunmen and destroyed
anti-tank missile launch and observation posts.
Israeli troops are seen 'deep' within the territory of the Gaza Strip
Video
released by the IDF shows Israeli troops walking through the bombed out
streets of northern Gaza while raising their guns at the destroyed
buildings - ready to pounce at any movement of Hamas terrorists
potentially hiding within.
The army
said it had hit around 300 targets and confiscated 'numerous weapons'
such as guns and bombs as well as 'military compounds inside underground
tunnels' belonging to Hamas terrorists.
The
tunnels under the cramped enclave are a prime objective for
Israel. Some of the 240 hostages that Israel says were seized by Hamas
that day are believed to be held in the tunnel complex, adding a further
complication for the Israelis on top of the difficulties of fighting in
an urban setting.
In response, Hamas gunmen attacked Israeli forces
with machine gun fire and anti-tank missiles. 'The soldiers killed
terrorists and directed air forces to real-time strikes on targets and
terror infrastructure,' the IDF said.
And
Hamas terrorists launched nine Grad rockets at the southern city of
Ashdod today, leaving four people injured, one of whom is said to be
'very serious'. Video shows cars engulfed in flames, with black smoke
filling the air.
Palestinian children mourn
relatives killed in the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip, in front
of the morgue in Deir al Balah on Tuesday
A Palestinian man from
al-Badrasawi family carries the body of his child who was killed in
Israeli strikes, at Shuhada Al-Aqsa hospital in the central Gaza Strip
on Tuesday
The fighting came
after Netanyahu on Monday evening slapped aside a call from 120
countries for a sustained humanitarian truce, saying such a ceasefire
would be 'surrendering' to Hamas.
'This
will not happen,' the premier said, vowing Israel would 'fight until
this battle is won'. 'Calls for a ceasefire are calls for Israel to
surrender to Hamas,' he said.
Israel
launched the war on October 7 in retribution for Hamas-led raids on
Israeli homes, farms and villages that killed an estimated 1,400 people,
according to Israeli officials.
More
than three weeks of massive and sustained Israeli aerial bombardments
have been followed by a large-scale ground offensive inside Gaza.
On
Monday, witnesses said Israeli forces targeted Gaza's main north-south
road on Monday and attacked Gaza City from two directions. They said
they saw 'dozens' of Israeli tanks operating on the southern outskirts
of Gaza City.
Jonathan Conricus, an
Israeli military spokesman, said ground operations are focused on
northern Gaza, including Gaza City, which he said was the 'centr of
gravity of Hamas.'
'But we also
continue to strike in other parts of Gaza. We are hunting their
commanders, we are attacking their infrastructure, and whenever there is
an important target that is related to Hamas, we strike it,' he said.
Israel's
military also released images of mechanized units grinding through
coastal sands in northern Gaza. Video also shows soldiers walking across
an open area as heavy gunfire echoes in the background and setting up a
position in the ruins of a heavily damaged building.
They claimed an early victory: the rescue of one missing woman soldier from Hamas captivity.
The
release of Private Ori Megidish, 19, was 'secured during a ground
operation' inside Gaza the army said, adding she was now in Israel,
reunited with family and was 'doing well'.
Israeli soldiers gather near the border with Gaza before entering the Palestinian enclave on Tuesday amid ongoing battles
'She
has provided intelligence that we'll be able to use for future
operations' said army spokesman Jonathan Conricus. 'We are committed and
determined to get all of the 238 hostages that are still inside Gaza,'
he added. The IDF has since increased the number of hostages to 240.
But the toll of Israel's war in Gaza has sparked a global backlash.
Conricus
said some 800,000 people have heeded the Israeli military's orders to
flee from the northern part of the strip to the south. But tens of
thousands of people remain in and around Gaza City, and casualties are
expected to mount on both sides as the battle moves into dense,
residential neighbourhoods.
According
to Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry, Israel's relentless bombing
campaign has killed 8,306 people, including 3,457 children, since
October 7.
