Israeli strikes kill at least 17 in Gaza while land troops enter the north of the Palestinian territory

By Wafaa Shurafa

Deir Al Balah, Gaza (AP) – Israeli strikes killed more than a dozen people in the Gaza Strip early Friday, while Israel sent more land troops to Palestinian territory to accelerate its offensive against Hamas.

At least 17 people, some of the same family, were killed after an air strike hit the southern city of Khan Younis, according to hospital staff. A few hours later, people were still looking through the rubble, looking for survivors.

The attack occurred one day after Israeli strikes killed at least 100 Palestinians. Hundreds of others have died in the past two weeks, because Israel has intensified operations, intended to put Hamas to release the remaining hostages it had taken during its attack on Israel in October 2023. On Friday, Israel said that it had started a ground activity in northern Gaza, in order to extend its security zone.

The Israeli army had expressed radical evacuation orders for certain parts of the north of Gaza before the expected ground operations. The United Nations Humanitarian Bureau said that around 280,000 Palestinians had been moved since Israel put the ceasefire with Hamas last month.

In recent days, Israel has promised to seize large parts of the Palestinian territory and establish a new safety corridor through it.

To put pressure on Hamas, Israel has imposed a blockade of one month on food, fuel and humanitarian aid which left civilians confronted with acute shortages as supplies decrease – a tactic which, according to defense groups, is a war crime. Israel said earlier this week that enough food had entered Gaza during a six -week truce to keep around 2 million Palestinians in the territory for a long time.

Hamas says that it will only publish the 59 remaining hostages – of which 24 are supposed to be alive – in exchange for the release of more Palestinian prisoners, a lasting ceasefire and an Israeli Gaza judgment. The group rejected the requirements to lay their arms or leave the territory.

Friday, the strike before dawn struck a three -story building. In addition to the dead, the attack injured at least 16 people from the same family. The journalists of Associated Press saw bodies made in blankets, while others sought people trapped under the rubble and collected charred leftovers.

“We do not know how to recover them and how to bury them. We do not know who the remains. They were burned and dismembered,” said Ismail Al-Aqqad, whose brother died on strike, as well as his brother’s family.

On Thursday, more than 30 bodies, including women and children, were taken to hospitals in Khan Younis and the surrounding area, according to hospital staff.

Israel said on Friday that he killed a high commander of Hamas during a strike in the coastal city of Lebanon in Sidon. Israel said Hassan Farhat was a commander of the western Hamas area in Lebanon and that he was responsible for numerous attacks on Israel, including one in February 2024, who killed an Israeli soldier and injured others.

In the renewed offensive of Israel, the troops extended the buffer zone, taking up the eastern section of the Netzarim corridor and partially disconnecting the north and southern Gaza.

The data project on the site of armed conflicts based in the United States and data, known as ACLED, reported that there were more than 300 air strike events during 10 days at the end of March – almost 10 times the number of February.

The war began when fighters led by Hamas attacked southern Israel on October 7, 2023, killing around 1,200 people, mainly civilians, and taking 251 hostages, most of whom have been released in cease-fire and other agreements. Israel has saved eight living hostages and has recovered dozens of bodies.

More than 50,000 Palestinians were killed in Gaza as part of the Israel offensive, according to the Gaza Ministry of Health, which does not say if those who are killed are civilians or combatants. The ministry says that more than half of the people killed were women and children. Israel says he killed around 20,000 fighters, without providing evidence.

The war left most of Gaza in ruins and, at its height, moved around 90% of the population.

Follow the coverage of the war from https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war

Originally published: April 4, 2025 at 9:57 a.m.