Israel ‘terrorizing’ Gaza civilians over its military defeat: Hamas

GAZA CITY, Palestine

Palestinian group Hamas on Monday accused Israel of terrorizing civilians in the Gaza Strip over its military defeat in the enclave.

The accusation came shortly after at least 70 Palestinians were killed in Israeli airstrikes on Al-Maghazi refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip, according to health authorities.

“Whenever the Nazi army is defeated in front of the heroes of the resistance, it practices its terrorism against defenseless civilians with the help of [US President Joe] Biden,” senior Hamas member Izzat al-Rishq said in a statement.

Israel has pounded the Gaza Strip since a cross-border attack by the Palestinian group Hamas on Oct. 7, killing at least 20,424 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and injuring 54,036 others, according to local health authorities.

Around 1,200 Israelis are believed to have been killed in the Hamas attack.

The Israeli onslaught has left Gaza in ruins, with half of the coastal territory's housing damaged or destroyed and nearly 2 million people displaced within the densely-populated enclave amid shortages of food and clean water.

*Writing by Mohammad Sio