ANKARA 

Israeli forces continued with air strikes and artillery attacks in the Gaza Strip on Friday, the first day of Eid al-Adha, one of Islam's most important festivals, killing at least 33 people and injuring several others, witnesses and medical sources said.

Palestinians performed Eid prayers in the rubble of their destroyed homes, as much of the enclave lies in ruins due to Israel’s genocidal war since October 2023.

The Israeli army killed four Palestinians by targeting a tent sheltering displaced people in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, according to a medical source.

The military also killed three Palestinians by bombing a house in the city of Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip.

Warplanes carried out multiple raids in Khan Younis, while heavy artillery targeted residential neighborhoods in the central, northern, and eastern parts of the city, witnesses said.

Plumes of smoke rose across southern Khan Younis as shelling and air raids intensified.

According to medical sources, a child was shot dead by Israeli forces near the Al-Saraya detention area in Khan Younis. Another civilian succumbed to injuries sustained in a previous strike on the city.

Meanwhile, four Palestinians were killed and several others injured when a drone struck a mobile phone charging station set up between tents sheltering displaced families west of Khan Younis.

Two more Palestinians were killed in another attack on Al-Mawasi area of Khan Younis.

In Rafah, eight Palestinians were killed and 61 others injured by Israeli forces near an aid distribution center, the same locations that have been the target of deadly Israeli attacks since their establishment late last month.

After an Israeli airstrike on the town of Abasan al-Kabira, Khan Younis, rescue crews found a body under the rubble.

Witnesses also reported that Israeli troops carried out demolitions of buildings in northern Khan Younis.

In northern Gaza Strip, medical sources said 10 Palestinians were killed and several others injured after Israeli forces bombed residential homes in Jabalia.

Heavy shelling was reported in the Al-Tuffah neighborhood of Gaza City, while air raids struck the town of Jabalia, according to residents.

This marks the fourth Eid Gazans are experiencing during the war, which has to date killed more than 54,000 Palestinians, created conditions of famine and rendered the enclave uninhabitable.