Israeli military strikes across the Gaza Strip have killed at least 120 Palestinians over the last 48 hours and hit a hospital on the northern edge of the enclave, wounding medical staff and damaging equipment, Palestinian medics said on Saturday.
Among the dead were seven members of one family whose house was hit overnight in the Zeitoun suburb of Gaza City, the health officials said. The rest were killed in separate Israeli strikes in central and southern Gaza.
The casualties bring the war’s total death toll in Gaza to 44,176, said the ministry, with 104,473 others wounded.
At the same time, Israeli forces deepened their incursion and bombardment of the northern edge of the enclave, their main offensive since early last month. A spokesperson for the armed wing of Hamas said a female Israeli hostage in the group’s custody had been killed in a northern area under attack by Israeli forces.
“The life of another female prisoner who used to be with her remains in imminent danger,” spokesperson Abu Ubaida added, accusing the government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of being to blame.
At Kamal Adwan Hospital, one of three medical facilities on the northern edge of Gaza that is barely operational, director Hussam Abu Safiya said the ongoing Israeli bombardment in the area appeared aimed at forcing hospital staff to evacuate - something they have refused to do since the incursion began.
“Yesterday (Friday), from the afternoon until midnight, the bombardment directly targeted the entrance to the emergency and reception area several times,” he said in a statement, adding that 12 staff members including doctors and nurses were injured.
