The health ministry in Gaza has said at least 50 people were killed in Israeli bombardment of a refugee camp in the Palestinian territory, AFP reports.
“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 (Gaza) Strip,” a ministry statement said.
Gaza’s civil defence director said the Jabalia refugee camp has been “completely destroyed” by Israeli bombardment, Al Jazeera reports.
“These buildings house hundreds of citizens. The occupation’s air force destroyed this district with six US-made bombs. It is the latest massacre caused by Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip,” Ahmad al-Kahlout told reporters outside a hospital in Khan Younis.
“The international community must act immediately to stop Israel before it is too late,” he added.
Meanwhile, Israeli troops battled Hamas militants and attacked underground compounds on Tuesday with a focus on northern Gaza, from which an estimated 800,000 Palestinians have fled south despite continued Israeli bombardment across the besieged enclave.
Buoyed by the first successful rescue of a captive held by Hamas, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected calls for a cease-fire and again vowed to crush Hamas’ ability to govern Gaza or threaten Israel following its bloody Oct. 7 rampage, which ignited the war.
The United States does not support current calls for a ceasefire in Gaza, the White House said, adding that “pauses” to get aid into Gaza should be considered instead on Tuesday. “We do not believe that a ceasefire is the right answer right now,” National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said. “We do not support a ceasefire at this time.” The al-Qassam brigades, Hamas’ armed wing, said fighters clashed early on Tuesday with Israeli forces “invading the southern Gaza axis, (including) with machine guns, and targeted four vehicles with al-Yassin 105 missiles,” referring to locally produced anti-tank missiles. The militants also targeted two Israeli tanks and bulldozers in northwest Gaza with the missiles, al-Qassam said.
