Daijiworld Media Network – Gaza

Gaza, Sep 13: At least 50 people were killed on Friday as Israeli forces stepped up air and ground attacks on Gaza City, the enclave’s civil defence agency reported. Israel says it aims to seize Gaza’s largest urban centre, calling it one of Hamas’s last bastions after the militant group’s October 2023 assault that triggered the ongoing war.

The UN has warned that a full-scale offensive could worsen what it has already declared a famine in the city. Britain, France and Germany jointly urged an “immediate” halt, citing mounting civilian casualties and destruction of vital infrastructure.

Gaza’s civil defence said 35 people were killed in Gaza City and 15 elsewhere. One strike in the city’s northwest alone killed 14, “most of them children and women,” relative Hazem al Sultan told AFP. “Only two bodies were intact, while the rest were body parts,” he added, as mourners prayed over small, white-shrouded remains at Al-Shifa hospital.

The Israeli military said it continues “wide-scale strikes on terrorist infrastructure and high-rise structures” and plans to “intensify targeted strikes” to weaken Hamas and protect its troops. Media restrictions prevented independent verification of casualty figures.

Despite repeated Israeli evacuation calls, many residents say they have no safe place to go, noting southern Gaza areas have also faced heavy bombardment. The UN estimates about one million people remain in and around Gaza City.

Families of hostages taken in the 2023 Hamas attack, in which 1,219 people in Israel were killed and 251 abducted, warned Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that the offensive endangers the 47 captives still in Gaza. According to Gaza’s health ministry—figures the UN deems credible—Israel’s retaliatory campaign has so far killed at least 64,756 Palestinians, most of them civilians.