Dozens of Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks in southern Gaza, health officials said, as the UN rights chief warned that the “darkest moment” of Israel’s assault on Gaza was unfolding in the north of the besieged territory, Al Jazeera reports.
Women and children were among at least 38 people killed in Israeli air attacks that hit several houses in Khan Younis on Friday, health authorities said.
Al Jazeera’s Tareq Abu Azzoum, reporting from central Gaza’s Deir el-Balah, said images showing the scene of the attack in Khan Younis “are disturbing, with many bodies lying on the ground in Nasser Hospital while parents and relatives bid farewell to the victims who have been transferred for burial.”
Ahmed Sobh recounted how his cousin had screamed, “Help me, help me”.
“We ran and found her children, a boy and a girl, martyred. Her son was lying under the concrete column, it took us 1.5 hours to get him out,” he told the Reuters news agency.
Ahmed al-Farra described digging through rubble to rescue relatives including his mother, adding he had lost 15 members of his extended family during the air strikes.
“As I was trying to dig [my mother] out I looked at this wall and saw a tank aiming at me. I was thinking, ‘Shall I dig or shall I watch the tank,’ what shall I do? I dug her out full of fear. Everyone was doing the same, digging in fear,” he said.
Israeli army strikes across the Gaza Strip have killed at least 72 people since Thursday night, health officials said.
The latest attacks include strikes on three houses in northern Gaza’s Beit Lahiya, where 25 people were killed and dozens more were wounded, medics said.
Later on Friday, an Israeli air strike killed nine people in the Shati refugee camp in Gaza City.
