200 dead in 24 hours as Israeli jets, tanks and troops pound city, refugee camp in Gaza

Israel’s bombardment of Gaza continued on Saturday morning with reports of air strikes and tank fire in the Southern Gazan city of Khan Younis, a Hamas stronghold.

International news outlets, citing residents, report fierce firefights between Israeli troops and Hamas fighters in the city.

Nearly 200 people are reported to have been killed in the city in the past 24 hours. 

An airstrike, on the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza at dawn on Friday, killed Palestinian journalist Jaber Abu Hidros and members of his family, in what Palestinian media says was part of a series of targeted strikes on its press. .

As Israeli ground operations displace tens of thousands of people, there are reports of an increased spread of diseases. On Friday, Israel said it had facilitated the entry of enough vaccines to inoculate almost 1.4 million people against a number of illnesses, deflecting UN complaints about the inadequate volume of aid reaching the territory onto the Palestinian distribution system.

At least 1,200 people were killed and around 240 others were taken hostage when Hamas militants attacked Israel on 7 October. The Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza says more than 21,300 people have been killed so far in Israel’s retaliatory campaign in Gaza.