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Israeli air strikes have killed scores of individuals in northern Gaza over the weekend as Israel continues its offensive towards Hamas days after killing its chief Yahya Sinwar.
Palestinian well being officers mentioned at the least 84 folks have been killed within the northern city of Beit Lahia on Saturday evening and within the early hours of Sunday, including that many others have been nonetheless trapped underneath the rubble.
The toll brings the variety of Palestinians killed in northern Gaza since Friday evening to greater than 100, based on officers within the strip.
Hamas mentioned Israel focused residential buildings in Beit Lahia, including that almost all of these killed have been girls and youngsters.
The Israeli army mentioned the demise toll launched by Gazan authorities was exaggerated based on its preliminary evaluation, including that it had struck a Hamas goal.
However Tor Wennesland, the UN’s particular co-ordinator for the Center East peace course of, mentioned: “Horrifying scenes are unfolding in northern Gaza.”
“The nightmare in Gaza is intensifying,” he mentioned in an announcement. “I condemn the persevering with assaults on civilians. This battle should finish, the hostages held by Hamas have to be freed, the displacement of Palestinians should stop.”
Israel’s strikes in northern Gaza come as western and Arab nations had hoped to make use of the demise of Sinwar, who masterminded final yr’s October 7 assault on Israel that triggered the battle, to revive their efforts to press for a ceasefire and safe the discharge of hostages.
However Israel has continued to combat on a number of fronts, together with in Lebanon, the place it launched a strike on the southern suburbs of Beirut on Sunday and has pushed on with a floor offensive towards Hizbollah within the south.
Additionally on Sunday, the Lebanese army mentioned three of its troopers had been killed in an Israeli strike on a military car in southern Lebanon.
The Israeli army mentioned it had focused a Hizbollah base and weapons storage within the strike on Beirut, however didn’t instantly touch upon the military strike.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu mentioned on Saturday that Israel was “decided to attain all our battle goals and alter the safety actuality in our area for generations to come back”.
He accused Hizbollah of attempting to “assassinate” him after the Israeli army mentioned a drone fired by the Iran-backed group hit a construction within the northern seaside city of Caesarea, the place Netanyahu has his non-public residence. The prime minister’s workplace confirmed that the house was focused however mentioned Netanyahu and his spouse weren’t current and nobody was harm.
Israeli authorities additionally mentioned one individual was killed on Saturday and 10 injured when Hizbollah rockets struck the northern cities of Kiryat Ata, Shlomi and Acre.
Hizbollah vowed on Friday that “a brand new and escalating section in its confrontation” with Israel was within the offing because it seeks to regroup after struggling a collection of devastating blows in latest weeks, together with final month’s assassination of its chief, Hassan Nasrallah.
Israel has continued to launch air strikes throughout Lebanon, together with bombing the southern suburbs of Beirut for the primary time in a number of days on Saturday and launching a drone strike on a Christian space.
In northern Gaza, the Israeli army has pressed on with army operations which have killed scores of individuals in latest days, together with at the least 33 folks within the Jabalia refugee camp on Friday evening, based on Palestinian well being officers.
After Israeli forces killed Sinwar, Israel’s most needed man, in southern Gaza on Thursday, US secretary of state Antony Blinken mentioned Washington would “redouble” its efforts to finish the battle in Gaza, which is seen as essential to efforts to halt the escalating battle between Israel and Hizbollah.
However even after Sinwar’s demise, Hamas has continued to insist it might solely conform to a deal to free the hostages and halt the combating if there was a everlasting ceasefire and Israeli forces withdraw from the strip.
Netanyahu has mentioned that battle will solely finish if the militant group lays down its weapons and releases the captives. There are estimated to be 101 hostages remaining in Gaza, although many are believed to be lifeless.
The Israeli prime minister has refused to just accept a everlasting ceasefire or to agree to drag troops out of the strip, the place the offensive has killed greater than 42,000 folks, based on Palestinian well being authorities.
The Israeli army has been conducting a weeks-long offensive in devastated northern Gaza, which has been targeted round Jabalia, one of many few locations the place folks stay within the strip’s north after most have been pressured to flee to the enclave’s south.
Philippe Lazzarini, head of the UN company for Palestinian refugees, mentioned one other 20,000 folks needed to flee Jabalia on Saturday, including that the final remaining hospitals have been reporting a vital scarcity of gas and medical provides.
The UN mentioned two out of three hospitals working in northern Gaza have been straight hit, warning that the “assaults are deepening an already alarming humanitarian disaster”.
Cartography by Jana Tauschinski
