Dozens of Gazans Killed in Israeli Attacks Throughout Tuesday, Death Toll Reaches 38,240

Israeli military land operations in Gaza. (Source: Israel Defense Forces)

JAKARTA - Dozens of people were reportedly killed in Israeli strikes on the Palestinian Gaza Strip on Tuesday, raising the death toll, with the Hamas group saying ceasefire talks may be in jeopardy.

Palestinian officials said Israeli airstrikes on the southern Gaza Strip killed more than two dozen people, while tanks advancing on Gaza City forced residents to flee under fire as Israel on Tuesday stepped up its military offensive.

The airstrikes hit tents of displaced families outside a school in the town of Abassan east of Khan Younis in southern Gaza, killing at least 29 people, most of them women and children, Palestinian medical officials said.

Meanwhile, Ismail Al-Thawabta, director of the Hamas-run Gaza government media office, said Israeli strikes on central Gaza killed 60 Palestinians and wounded dozens more yesterday.

Residents said Israeli tanks that entered the Tel Al-Hawa, Shejaia, and Sabra neighborhoods of Gaza City fired on streets and buildings, forcing them to flee their homes. This was followed by an Israeli military order to evacuate several districts in eastern and western Gaza City posted on social media, including these neighborhoods.

"We hold the occupation and the US government responsible for the horrific massacre of civilians," Thawabta said in a statement, reported by Reuters, July 10.

Meanwhile, the Palestinian Red Crescent said on Wednesday morning on Facebook that its crews had received dozens of humanitarian distress calls from Gaza City, but were unable to help because of the intensity of the bombardment there.

Separately, the Israeli military said it was reviewing reports that civilians were injured. It said the incident occurred when it attacked with "precision munitions" a Hamas fighter who took part in the October 7 attack on Israel that triggered Israel's offensive in Gaza.

On the Gaza City front, Hamas's armed wing and its ally Islamic Jihad said their fighters were battling Israeli forces with machine guns, mortar fire, and anti-tank missiles, killing and wounding Israeli soldiers.

The latest fighting has come as senior US officials are in the region to push for a ceasefire after Hamas made concessions last week. However, Israel's new campaign threatens the talks at a crucial time and could bring them "back to square one," Hamas quoted one of its leaders, Ismail Haniyeh, as saying.

Nine months of war and displacement have led to a hunger crisis. The recent deaths of several children from malnutrition in the Gaza Strip indicate that famine has spread throughout the coastal enclave, a group of independent human rights experts mandated by the United Nations said.

The Gaza Health Ministry announced on Tuesday that the death toll from the Palestinians since the latest conflict broke out on October 7, 2023 has reached 38,243, while the number of injured has reached 88,033, as quoted by Anadolu.