GAZA: Israel pounded southern Gaza with air strikes early on Sunday and said it would intensify its attacks in the enclave’s north, as aircraft struck a compound beneath a mosque in the West Bank early on Sunday. Palestinian media reported at least 11 Palestinians were killed in an Israeli strike in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis. Palestinian media also said Israel was striking the southern city of Rafah.
The overnight strikes came hours after Israeli military spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari called on Gazans to move south.
The first humanitarian aid convoy to be allowed in to the besieged Gaza Strip since war broke out arrived through the Rafah border crossing on Saturday. The United Nations said the 20-truck convoy included life-saving supplies that would be received by the Palestinian Red Crescent.
But the UN humanitarian office (OCHA) said the volume of goods that entered on Saturday was equivalent to about 4 per cent of the daily average of imports into Gaza prior to the hostilities, and only a fraction of what was needed after 13 days of siege of an enclave that is home to 2.3 million people.
The Israeli air strike is at least the second in recent days to hit the West Bank, where violence has surged since a deadly October 7 rampage in Israel.
Jenin refugee camp was the focus of a major Israeli military operation earlier this year.
Footage on social media, appearing to show the scene of the air strike, showed a gaping hole in one of the mosque’s exterior walls, surrounded by debris. Several dozen Palestinians are seen assessing the damage.
The Palestinian Red Crescent ambulance service said at least one Palestinian was killed and three others injured. Residents of the camp said they received warnings from the Israeli military to stay away due to an impending incursion into the camp. They said the military did not specify a date. — Reuters
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