Israeli Strikes across Gaza Kill 13, Hamper Rescue Work

Israeli forces shelled northern Rafah city in the south of the enclave and the southeast edge of Deir al‑Balah in central Gaza.

Three members of one family were among the dead, Palestinian health officials said.

A separate barrage hit a house east of Jabalia in the north, causing injuries and leaving several people unaccounted for.

Gaza’s civil‑defence agency said rescuers could not reach many of the missing because “continuous Israeli bombardment” made access unsafe.

“The occupation targets everyone who moves in the northern areas of the Strip, and we find it difficult to reach those areas to save citizens,” spokesman Mahmoud Basal said.

Basal added that dozens had been killed in recent strikes on more than 10 inhabited homes in Beit Lahiya and Jabalia.

In the south, Israeli fire hit the town of al‑Fukhari, east of Khan Younis, killing at least one person, Al Jazeera Arabic reported.

Local media said Israeli vehicles were advancing southeast of Deir al‑Balah under heavy covering fire, while artillery targeted Abu Holi, Abu al‑Ajin and al‑Jafarawi.

Large explosions were also reported in al‑Qarara, an area of Khan Younis struck by air earlier in the day.

Israel has code‑named its latest ground operation “Gideon’s Chariots.”

Further details of troop movements and casualties were not immediately available.

The Israeli army has pursued a brutal offensive on the Gaza Strip since Oct. 7, 2023, killing more than 53,000 Palestinians so far, most of them women and children.

The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants last November for Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defense minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.