GAZA, May 20 – At least 64 Palestinians were killed in Israeli attacks across Gaza on Tuesday, said Mahmoud Basal, spokesperson for the Civil Defense in Gaza.
Around Gaza City, 13 people, including women and children, were killed and several others injured in an Israeli airstrike on the Musa bin Nusair school, east of the city, which shelters displaced people, whereas a woman and a man were killed in two separate attacks in the city, Basal told Xinhua.
In central Gaza, 13 people were killed in an Israeli airstrike on a residential home belonging to the Abu Samra family in the Al-Mahatta neighborhood east of Deir al-Balah, and 15 others were killed and several more injured in an Israeli airstrike on a gas station housing displaced people west of the Nuseirat refugee camp, Basal said.
In northern Gaza, nine people were killed when an Israeli airstrike hit the home of the al-Maqeed family in Jabalia, and four others were killed in an Israeli attack on the Khalifa school housing displaced people in Beit Lahia, he added.
In southern Gaza, eight people were killed in two Israeli attacks in Khan Younis, he said.
Meanwhile, Ahed Samour, director of Primary Care at the Gaza-based health authorities, said in a press statement that Gaza’s health system “is on the brink of collapse,” warning of the risk of “a health disaster in the coming months due to the shortage of basic vaccines for children.”
“Health facilities are shrinking day by day” amidst “almost non-existent” stock of medicines, out-of-stock basic items, and nonfunctional medical equipment, Samour said.
Israel halted the entry of goods and supplies into Gaza on March 2, following the expiration of the first phase of a January ceasefire agreement with Hamas. It resumed attacks on Gaza on March 18, which have so far killed more than 3,300 people and injured over 9,350, according to the Gaza-based health authorities.
Over the weekend, Israel launched its new military campaign, dubbed Gideon’s Chariots, which it said aims to seize key parts of Gaza, push a majority of Gaza’s population further south, and resume humanitarian aid distribution under stricter Israeli oversight.
On Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel would allow the entry of a “minimal and basic” quantity of aid into Gaza to prevent “images of mass starvation.” Later, five UN aid trucks entered Gaza through Israel’s Kerem Shalom border crossing on Monday after undergoing security inspections.
On Tuesday, Israeli military spokesperson Avichay Adraee said in a statement that Israel is “entering a new phase (of operation), different in size and strength,” to achieve its objectives of returning the hostages and defeating Hamas.
XINHUA
