New Delhi: As the conflict with the militant group Hamas entered its fourth month on Sunday, Israel said it had “dismantled” the Palestinian group’s military leadership in northern Gaza, reported news agency AFP.
Witnesses told AFP that Israel on Sunday morning carried out air strikes in Gaza’s main southern city of Khan Yunis, with the official Palestinian news agency Wafa reporting numerous dead and wounded.
On Saturday, Israel’s army said that it had “completed the dismantling of the Hamas military framework in the northern Gaza Strip” and its forces would now focus on central and southern areas of the territory.
The war in Gaza was triggered by an unprecedented attack on Israel launched by Hamas on October 7, which resulted in the deaths of around 1,140 people, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.
The militants also took around 250 hostages, 132 of whom remain in captivity, according to Israel, including at least 24 believed to have been killed.
In response to the attack, Israel is carrying out a relentless bombardment and ground invasion that have killed at least 22,722 people, most of them women and children, according to the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry.
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed that Israel would continue its campaign to “eliminate Hamas, return our hostages, and ensure that Gaza will no longer be a threat to Israel”.
The civilians in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip have borne the major impact of the conflict, with widespread destruction leading to mass displacement and a deepening humanitarian crisis.
In light of extensive damage, UN humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths stated on Friday that “Gaza has simply become uninhabitable,” reported AFP.
The World Health Organization reported that the majority of Gaza’s 36 hospitals have been put out of action due to the ongoing conflict, leaving the remaining medical facilities grappling with severe shortages.