Gaza, Gaza Strip.- Israeli strikes have killed at least 48 people in the Gaza Strip, Palestinian health officials said, as clashes erupted in central and southern parts of the enclave ahead of the planned start of a polio vaccination campaign.
The United Nations is seeking to vaccinate some 640,000 children in the territory against polio, taking advantage of daily eight-hour pauses in fighting between Israeli forces and Hamas militants in specific areas of the besieged enclave.
On Saturday, as more than 2,000 medical and community workers prepared for the start of the campaign, doctors in Nuseirat, one of the Gaza Strip’s eight historic refugee camps, said separate Israeli strikes killed at least 19 people, including nine members of the same family. More than 30 people were killed in a series of strikes in other areas of Gaza, the doctors said.
Residents and militant sources said fighters from Hamas, Islamic Jihad and other groups battled Israeli forces in the northern Gaza neighborhood of Zeitoun, where tanks have been operating for days, and in Rafah, near the border with Egypt.
The Israeli military said in a statement that it was continuing to operate in the central and southern Gaza Strip. It said troops killed militants and dismantled military infrastructure in Gaza City, while locating weapons and killing gunmen in Tel Al-Sultan in western Rafah. In Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, families returned to their homes after the military ended a 22-day offensive it said was aimed at preventing Hamas from regrouping. Images showed large areas razed to the ground and buildings and infrastructure destroyed. Medics said they recovered at least nine bodies from the area where the military was operating.
Fourth day of operations in the West Bank
In the occupied West Bank, Israeli forces continued a military operation in the city of Jenin. Drones and helicopters flew overhead as sporadic gunfire rang out.
It is the fourth day of a large-scale Israeli operation in the occupied territory, where Palestinians are reporting “black days.” The Israeli army reported the death of 20-year-old soldier Elkana Navon during an operation on Saturday and said another soldier was “seriously wounded,” without giving further details. It also said it eliminated two Palestinians planning to carry out attacks near West Bank settlements early Saturday morning.
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