Palestinian officials say Israeli strikes in northern Gaza kill 22 people

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israeli strikes in northern Gaza killed at least 22 people, mostly women and children, Palestinian officials said Sunday in an offensive against the hard-hit and isolated north. entered the third week and aid groups described a humanitarian disaster.

The Gaza Health Ministry’s emergency service said 11 women and two children were among those killed in strikes on several houses and buildings in the northern city of Beit Lahiya. Another 15 people were reportedly injured and the death toll could rise. It listed the names of those killed, who came mainly from three families.

The Israeli military said it struck the militants in a compound in Beit Lahia and took measures to avoid harming civilians. She contested what she called “figures published by the media,” without elaborating or providing evidence in her favor.

Israel still strikes Gaza daily despite this it is waging an air and ground war against Hezbollah fighters in Lebanon. Two people were injured after an explosive drone launched from Lebanon crashed into a building in an industrial area in northern Israel, authorities said. An Israeli airstrike on the southern district of Beirut caused flames and smoke.

on saturday Israeli warplanes attacked military targets in Iran — which supports both Hamas and Hezbollah — in response to Iran’s ballistic missile attack earlier this month.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Sunday that Israel’s attack “should not be exaggerated or downplayed,” while not calling for retaliation. His remarks are the latest in signs that Iran is carefully weighing its response to the attack.

“It is up to the authorities to determine how to transfer the power and will of the Iranian people to the Israeli regime and take measures that serve the interests of this nation and the country,” said Khamenei, who has the final say on all major decisions in Iran.

The cascading conflicts have raised fears of a global regional war pitting Israel and the United States against Iran and its proxy fighters, which also include Houthi rebels in Yemen and armed groups in Syria and Iraq.

Israel has been waging a massive air and ground offensive in northern Gaza since October 6 after it said Hamas militants had regrouped there. Hundreds of people were killed and tens of thousands of Palestinians fled to Gaza City the last wave of displacement in the year’s war.

Israel says its strikes in Gaza only target militants, and it blames Hamas for civilian casualties because the militants fight in densely populated areas. The military rarely comments on individual strikes, which often kill women and children.

Aid groups have warned of a catastrophic situation in northern Gaza, which was the first target of an Israeli ground offensive and has already suffered the worst destruction of war. Israel significantly limited the flow of basic humanitarian aid in recent weeks, and the three remaining hospitals in the north – one of which was ransacked over the weekend – say they have been overwhelmed by waves of wounded.

On Saturday, the International Committee of the Red Cross said ongoing Israeli evacuation orders and restrictions on the import of essential goods into the north had left civilians in “horrendous circumstances”.

“Many civilians are currently unable to move, trapped by fighting, destruction or physical limitations, and now do not have access to even basic medical care,” it said.

Israeli forces raided Kamal Advan Hospital in the north of the country on Friday, detaining dozens of medical staff and causing serious damage, according to the Ministry of Health. Footage was shared on the network showing the inner yard destroyed by bulldozers, and the wards. Israeli forces retreated on Saturday.

The head of the World Health Organization announced that 44 male employees were detained at the hospital. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said only the women, the hospital director and one male doctor were left to care for nearly 200 patients.

According to Al-Awda Hospital, among those detained and taken away was Dr. Mohamed Obeid, head of the orthopedics department at nearby Al-Awda Hospital. His location is unknown.

During the year-long war between Israel and Hamas, Israeli forces stormed and bombed a number of hospitals including the largest medical facility on the strip, Shifa Hospital. Israel accuses Hamas of using medical facilities across Gaza for military purposes, a charge denied by hospital staff who say the raids recklessly put sick and wounded civilians at risk.

The war began when Hamas-led militants punched holes in Israel’s border wall and unexpectedly invaded southern Israel on October 7, 2023. They killed about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and kidnapped about 250. About 100 hostages are still in Gazaabout a third of whom are believed to be dead.

According to the local Ministry of Health, more than 42,000 Palestinians died in response to Israel. In its count, the ministry did not distinguish between civilians and combatants, but said more than half of the dead were women and children. Israel claims to have killed more than 17,000 militants without providing evidence.

The offensive devastated much of the impoverished coastal area and displaced about 90% of its population of 2.3 million, often multiple times. Hundreds of thousands of people are crammed into squalid tent camps along the coast, and aid groups say the famine is unstoppable.

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Magdy reported from Cairo and Kraus from Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Associated Press writer Tia Goldenberg in Tel Aviv, Israel contributed.

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