51 people have been killed in a day-long Israeli Air Force (IAF) attack in the Gaza Strip, according to a report by Turkey’s state-run Anadolu Agency, citing the Palestinian official news agency Wafa News.
According to Wafa News, the first attack occurred on Monday morning in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis, killing nine people, while the IAF also struck the Al-Sharif refugee camp near Khan Younis at a similar time, killing four people.
A total of 19 people were killed in Gaza City, the main city in Gaza. Of these, 9 were residents of the city’s central area, 3 were residents of southern Gaza City and 7 were residents of northern Gaza City. Another 10 were killed in the Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza. In addition, 9 people were killed in the Beit Laha suburb of northern Gaza.
The IDF began its operation in Gaza in October 2023. Since Monday’s operation, the total number of deaths and injuries in the Gaza Strip in the past year and a half has reached 53,300 and 116,416, respectively. 56 percent of these deaths and injuries are women and children.
On October 7, 2023, fighters from Hamas, the armed political group that controls the Gaza Strip, entered Israeli territory and launched an ambush. They killed 1,200 people and took 251 hostages in a random shooting spree.
The Israeli army launched an operation in Gaza that day to free the hostages. After more than 15 months of continuous operations, Israel declared a ceasefire in Gaza on January 19 under pressure from the United States and other mediating countries; but before the end of the two-month truce, due to disagreements over the release of the hostages and the release of Palestinians held in Israeli prisons in exchange, the IDF resumed its military operation in Gaza on March 18. In the second phase of this operation, 2,060 Palestinians have been killed and 5,375 injured in Gaza in the past 38 days.
At least 35 of the 251 hostages taken by Hamas fighters are believed to be still alive. The IDF has announced that they will be rescued through a military operation.
The United Nations and the international community have repeatedly called on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to halt the military operation in Gaza. A genocide case has already been filed against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), known as the UN’s court.
However, Netanyahu has made it clear that the goal of the operation is to completely weaken and disable Hamas and free the hostages, and that the operation in Gaza will continue until the goal is achieved.
Source: Anadolu Agency