GAZA, Sep. 8 — At least 50 Palestinians were killed across the Gaza Strip by the Israeli army on Sunday, the Palestinian official news agency WAFA reported. According to WAFA, 46 of the victims were in the northern part of the enclave. Since dawn on Sunday, the Israeli army has “completely destroyed more than 50 buildings and partially damaged 100 others, including high-rise buildings housing thousands of citizens,” Gaza Civil Defense spokesperson Mahmoud Basal said in a statement.
Basal described the day as “one of the most difficult days of the war” since March 18, noting that his teams “are exhausted by the intensity of the continuous targeting of the city.
” Meanwhile, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement that it struck another high-rise building in Gaza City, claiming it was used by Hamas.
According to the IDF, “Hamas terrorists planted intelligence-gathering equipment and positioned observation posts to monitor the location of IDF troops in the area.
” The military did not provide evidence to support the claim. Hamas rejected the accusations as “baseless lies,” insisting the targeted high-rises were residential towers.
As the Israeli army pressed on with its Gaza City operation, displacement among local residents continued.
“In Gaza, thousands are being forcibly displaced once again from their homes – uprooted by ongoing attacks, and confined to tiny, unsafe areas,” the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) said on social media platform X on Sunday.
“With buildings, schools, shelters, and hospitals destroyed, access to food, clean water, and other essential supplies is severely limited,” it said. “Survival is a daily struggle.
No place is safe, no one is safe.” On March 18, Israel resumed its military operations in the enclave.
At least 11,911 Palestinians have been killed and 50,735 others injured since Israel renewed its intensive strikes, bringing the total death toll since October 2023 to 64,455 and the number of injured to 162,776, Gaza health authorities said on Sunday.
Also on Sunday, Hamas said in a statement that its leadership delegation concluded a visit to Egypt on Saturday evening, during which it “met with Palestinian factions, civil society institutions, Palestinian figures, and businessmen in the Egyptian capital Cairo.
” The Palestinian factions agreed to continue seeking ways to end the war, “as well as enhance joint work to manage the battle and draw a national roadmap for the post-war period,” the statement added. (Xinhua)
