Dozens killed in Gaza as Israeli forces expand offensive
Israeli forces pounded Gaza with a series of air strikes overnight into Thursday, killing dozens of people as Israel looks to expand its ground offensive against militant group Hamas.
The air strikes hit a series of homes and buildings across Gaza, including in the northern town of Beit Lahiyeh where at least 21 people, including women and children, were buried, The Associated Press reported.
Bassel Kheir al-Din, a journalist with a local TV station, told the news wire a strike crushed his home and damaged three nearby homes. Al-Din said 12 members of his family, including three children, were buried and presumed dead while nine neighbors were missing.
In the town of Deir al-Balah in central Gaza, one hospital received the bodies of 25 people killed overnight, including five children and seven woman, the AP reported, citing hospital records.
Residents told the AP that Israeli strikes and artillery hit around the Bureij and Nuseirat refugee camps in central Gaza, with one resident saying thousands have fled their homes recently in the wake of Israel's bombardment.
An estimated 1.9 million residents in Gaza — 85 percent of its population — have been displaced since Hamas's Oct. 7 attack, according to United Nations officials.
The strikes come a day after a top Israeli official said the war could stretch on for "many more months." Herzi Halevi, chief of the general staff for the Israeli military, added that "there are no magic solutions or shortcuts."
Israel has pledged to eliminate the threat and rule of Hamas in Gaza following the militant group's assault into southern Israel that killed an estimated 1,200 people, while the Biden administration has urged it to transition to more targeted, "lower-intensity" operations.
The bombardment of the coastal enclave comes as Israel largely resists calls from around the world for a lengthier cease-fire amid Gaza's climbing death toll. More than 20,000 Palestinians have been killed since early October, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday reportedly told members of his Likud party he is focused on moving forward with Israel's offensive.
“We are expanding the fight in the coming days and this will be a long battle, and it isn’t close to finished,” he said Monday.
The Associated Press contributed.