At least 20 Palestinians killed as Israel battles Hamas in south Gaza

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Medical facilities are at risk of collapse in Khan Younis, the southern Gaza city now at the focus of Israel’s offensive, the Gaza Health Ministry warned, as fighting raged across the Palestinian enclave.

According to Reuters, residents said Israeli planes and tanks also pounded areas in Gaza City to the north, where Israel has been pulling out troops. The fighting could be heard in the nearby towns of Beit Lahiya and Jabalia, near Gaza City.

Israel’s military said it was engaged in “intensive battles” in Khan Younis, where it said troops “eliminated terrorists and located large quantities of weapons”.

The armed wing of Hamas and the Islamic Jihad said fighters clashed with Israeli troops in several areas across the enclave overnight. Hamas’ armed wing said its fighters destroyed two Israeli tanks in Khan Younis.

Gaza Health Ministry spokesperson Ashraf Al-Qidra said 165 Palestinians were killed and 290 wounded in the past 24 hours, bringing the total killed in Israeli strikes since the bombardment began to 26,422. Officials in the territory do not distinguish between fighters and civilians in their count.

One strike on a house in a suburb of Gaza City killed eight people, health officials said.

As night fell, Palestinian health officials said the number of Palestinians killed in an Israeli air strike on a multi-floor house in the Al-Nusseirat refugee camp in central Gaza rose to 20. The Israeli military said they were checking the report.

In western Gaza City, residents said Israel naval boats opened fire on beachfront areas, but no injuries were reported. In other parts of the enclave, residents reported intensified fighting amid heavier Israeli aerial attacks.

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