Israel kills 52 Palestinians, destroy homes across Gaza Strip
Israeli forces killed more than 378 Palestinians during Trump’s four-day Gulf tour
GAZA CITY, Palestine / ANKARA
Israeli airstrikes killed 52 Palestinians and injured several others early Saturday across various areas of the Gaza Strip, sources said.
Medical sources said the latest Israeli airstrikes killed seven Palestinians, including three in Khan Younis of southern Gaza— one of whom was shot by a drone, and two others killed in a strike targeting a group of civilians. Four others were killed in the Tel al-Zaatar neighborhood in the Jabalia refugee camp of the northern strip when a house was bombed.
Earlier, 45 Palestinians were reported killed, including nine who died in an Israeli attack targeting an aid warehouse in Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
The new wave of attacks comes after the Israeli army announced an expanded campaign dubbed “Operation Gideon’s Chariots.”
According to an army statement, Israeli forces have begun widespread strikes aimed at “liberating hostages and defeating Hamas.”
Israel’s public broadcaster KAN reported that the operation aims to occupy the entire Gaza Strip and may last several months. It involves a mass evacuation of all civilians toward the south, where the army plans to establish “secured zones.”
Over the past five days, Israel intensified its attacks in Gaza, coinciding with a regional visit by US President Donald Trump.
During Trump’s four-day Gulf tour, which concluded after his departure from the UAE, Israeli forces killed more than 378 Palestinians, nearly four times the number of fatalities reported in the preceding four days, according to data compiled by Anadolu from Gaza’s Health Ministry.
The Israeli army has pursued a brutal offensive against Gaza since Oct. 7, 2023, killing more than 53,000 Palestinians, most of them women and children.
The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants last November for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.
