At least 16 Palestinians were killed by Israeli bombing in the Al-Zawaida area in the central Gaza Strip, the Palestinian official news agency WAFA reported on Saturday.
Israeli warplanes bombed overnight a shack and a house belonging to the Al-Ajl family near the entrance to Al-Zawaida, also injuring dozens of others, who were transferred to a hospital in the city of Deir al-Balah, WAFA said.
The Israel Defense Forces said in a statement on Saturday that it was continuing operations in the central and southern Gaza Strip. Over the past day, Israeli Air Force aircraft eliminated about 40 targets, including military structures, weapons storage facilities, and more, it added.
The Israeli army’s fighting in the Gaza Strip has ended, Israel’s state-owned Kan TV news reported late Friday night.
Citing senior security officials, the TV said that Israel can return and re-enter Gaza “when there is new intelligence,” but in general the Israeli military’s activity in the Palestinian enclave is over.
Israel has been on a large-scale offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip to retaliate against a Hamas rampage through the southern Israeli border on Oct. 7, 2023, during which about 1,200 people were killed and about 250 taken hostage.
The Palestinian death toll from ongoing Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip had risen to 40,005, Gaza-based health authorities said in a statement on Thursday.
