GAZA CITY, Palestine / ANKARA

Nearly 40 Palestinians were killed Friday as Israeli forces bombarded multiple areas across the Gaza Strip, while additional casualties were reported in strikes on displacement camps and residential neighborhoods, according to medical and local sources.

The Palestinian news agency Wafa reported that 16 bodies were brought to Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital, 12 to Nasser Hospital, eight to Al-Shifa Medical Complex, and two to Al-Awda Hospital.

Meanwhile, medical sources told Anadolu that seven Palestinians were killed in Israeli shelling on Al-Mawasi of Khan Younis in southern Gaza, while three others died when their vehicle was targeted in the same area.

In Gaza City, two people were killed and several others injured in an Israeli strike on a group of residents in the Sabra neighborhood, while another person was killed in the Ansar district.

Rescue teams also recovered two bodies from under the rubble of Al-Falah School in the Zeitoun neighborhood, which had been bombed five days earlier. The rescuers themselves came under fire during the recovery operation.

In the central Gaza Strip, five displaced Palestinians, mostly children, were killed when tents sheltering families at Gaza’s port were struck. Another civilian was killed and others were wounded when Israeli forces shelled a displacement tent in Deir al-Balah’s Environment Street.

Separately, a Palestinian newborn died and three premature babies were evacuated on Friday from Al-Hilu Hospital in Gaza City to southern hospitals in coordination with the World Health Organization, according to a local health official.

The evacuation came after Israeli forces shelled Al-Hilu Hospital with two tank rounds on Sunday, cutting off access for staff and patients.

Mohammed Abu Salmiya, director of Al-Shifa Hospital, said one of four premature infants awaiting transfer had died, while 10 others remain in Al-Hilu’s neonatal unit.

He appealed for urgent protection of Gaza’s remaining hospitals and medical staff.

Eyewitnesses said Israeli troops remain stationed meters from the hospital as part of their ground incursion into Gaza City, where they continue demolishing homes, shelters, and residential towers to force mass displacement.

Israel has maintained a blockade on Gaza, home to nearly 2.4 million people, for almost 18 years.

Since October 2023, Israeli bombardment has killed nearly 66,300 Palestinians, most of them women and children. The UN and rights groups have repeatedly warned that the enclave is being rendered uninhabitable, with starvation and disease spreading rapidly.