Toll of martyred Palestinians hits 8,306 including 3,457 children as Israel continues to pound Gaza
GAZA, Palestine (AFP) - Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry said Monday that at least 8,306 people have been martyred in the Palestinian territory since the start of the war with Israel on October 7.
The ministry said at least 3,457 children and 2,136 women were among the martyrs. Over 21,048 people have been wounded in the Israeli strikes. Moreover, over 1,950 people, including 1,050, children are still missing. About 93 people were martyred in the Israeli strikes in Khan Younis.
Israeli tanks advanced into the fringes of Gaza City, witnesses said, as it ramped up its war on Hamas saying it killed dozens of militants in hundreds of strikes. "We have hit more than 600 targets in the past 24 hours," a military spokesperson told AFP, up from 450 the previous day, with Hamas militants also reporting "heavy fighting" in northern Gaza.
"Dozens" of tanks entered Zaytun district on the southern fringes of Gaza City, cutting a key road from the north to the south of the war-torn Palestinian territory, witnesses told AFP. "They have cut the Salahedin road and are firing at any vehicle that tries to go along it," said one resident who didn't give his name, but said they were present on two sections of the road.
Located on Gaza City's southern edge, Zaytun -- which normally has a population of over 130,000 -- is the city's largest district, but the area where the tanks were spotted is relatively sparsely populated. Dozens of buildings west of the Salahedin road have already been demolished by Israeli strikes in recent days.
Israeli strikes have also razed at least 10 high-rise buildings in Tal al-Hawwa, a district in the city's southwest, and damaged a Turkish-funded cancer treatment hospital in the same area, its director Sobhi Skeik told AFP.
In one incident, a fighter jet targeted a building "with over 20 Hamas terrorist operatives inside," while another fighter jet was guided to an anti-tank missile launching post in the area of Al-Azhar University, it said. The university is in the heart of Gaza City.
Increased strikes
Israel has on several occasions warned the 1.1 million people living in northern Gaza, including Gaza City, to head south to avoid its military strikes as it pushes ahead with a mission to 'destroy' the territory's Hamas rulers.
Although huge numbers have left in recent weeks, tens of thousands more are believed to be still in the zone. Since Friday, Israeli forces have stepped up their ground offensive as part of the military response to the October 7 Hamas attacks that officials say killed 1,400 people, mostly civilians, with another 239 people taken hostage.
