GAZA — At least 29 Palestinians were killed by Israeli bombings in the northern and southern Gaza Strip on Thursday, including the Gaza police chief, Palestinian sources said.
Eight citizens were killed and several others injured in the Israeli bombing of the vicinity of the Al-Ayoun and Al-Lababidi junctions, west of Gaza City, the Palestinian official news agency WAFA reported, adding that four others were killed as a result of the Israeli bombing in the northern Beach camp, west of the city.
In Khan Younis, six people were killed and several others injured as a result of an Israeli raid that targeted a building in the center of the southern city, WAFA said.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement on Thursday that the Air Force conducted an intelligence-based strike on Hamas militants who were operating in a control and command center that was embedded inside the Khan Younis municipality building in the humanitarian area.
Earlier in the day, at least 11 Palestinians were killed in an Israeli attack at tents in the Mawasi area, west of Khan Younis, according to the Hamas-run interior ministry.
“Major General Mahmoud Salah, director-general of the Gaza police force, and Hassam Shahwan, a senior official at Hamas’ interior authorities, were among the deaths,” according to the ministry.
In a separate statement, the IDF said that overnight, it conducted an intelligence-based strike on the humanitarian area in Khan Younis and killed the head of Hamas Internal Security Forces in the southern Gaza Strip, Hassam Shahwan.
Israel has been launching a large-scale offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip to retaliate against a Hamas rampage through the southern Israeli border on Oct. 7, 2023, during which about 1,200 people were killed and about 250 taken hostage.
The Palestinian death toll from ongoing Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip has risen to 45,581, the Gaza-based health authorities said in a statement on Thursday.
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