Heavy Israeli Shelling in Northern Gaza: Neighborhoods Flattened, Schools Targeted; Renewed Violence Amid Ceasefire Efforts
Overnight, Israel bombed northern Gaza with heavy shelling, flattening neighborhoods and causing panic among residents.
Tanks made a new incursion into Beit Hanoun, but did not penetrate far.
Gunfire reached schools where displaced residents were sheltering.
Incoming rocket alerts sounded in southern Israeli border towns, but no casualties were reported.
The armed wing of Islamic Jihad, an ally of Hamas, claimed responsibility for the rocket attacks on Sderot and Nir Am, indicating fighters were still able to launch them 200 days into the conflict that has displaced nearly all of Gaza's 2.3 million people.
Thick black smoke rose from northern Gaza, visible from the Israeli border.
Intense shelling occurred in Beit Hanoun and Jabalia, with at least 10 strikes reported in Zeitoun in a short time.
A mosque and a crowd gathering on the coastal road were reportedly hit in Beit Lahiya, but this was not immediately confirmed.
Um Mohammad, a resident of Zeitoun, described the night as one of horror with non-stop bombing from tanks and planes.
She had to gather her family and pray for their lives as their house shook.
A woman expresses concern about surviving the ongoing war between Israel and militants in Gaza.
The Israeli army reports launching rockets into Israel originated from northern Gaza, resulting in several militant deaths and strikes on approximately 25 terror targets.
Despite previous troop withdrawals from northern Gaza, renewed shelling and bombing has occurred.
Israel also recently withdrew most of its forces from southern Gaza.
Israel and Hamas have failed to reach a ceasefire, and Israeli military actions have prevented displaced Gazans from returning to their homes.
Israel has continued to bombard Gaza, including the cities of Khan Younis and eastern parts of the same city.
Israel's goal is to eliminate Hamas, which controls Gaza, following a militant attack on October 7 that killed 1,200 and took 253 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.
In the past 24 hours, Israeli military strikes killed 32 Palestinians and wounded 59 others, according to Palestinian health authorities.
The seven-month war has resulted in over 34,000 confirmed deaths, with thousands more bodies yet to be recovered.
Residents also reported bombing east of Deir Al-Balah in a central zone separating the north from the south.
In Gaza's Nasser Hospital, authorities discovered an additional 35 bodies in one of several mass graves, bringing the total to 310 in a week.
Israel claims it had to fight inside hospitals due to Hamas operatives, but medical staff and Hamas deny these allegations.