Photo : Collected
Israeli forces stepped up military strikes across Gaza, killing at least 29 Palestinians in the past 24 hours, and wounding 100 others, the territory's health officials said.
Among those killed in separate air strikes were five local journalists, raising the death toll of journalists since 7 October to 158, according to the Hamas-led Gaza government media office.
Israeli forces, which have deepened their incursions into Rafah, near the border with Egypt, killed four Palestinian policemen and wounded eight others, in an air strike on their vehicle on Saturday, health officials said.
A statement issued by the Hamas-run interior ministry said the four included Fares Abdel-Al, the head of the police force in western Rafah neighbourhood of Tel Al-Sultan.
The Israeli military said forces continued "intelligence-base operations" in Rafah, destroyed several underground structures, seized weapons and equipment, and killed several Palestinian gunmen.
Israel said its operations in Rafah aimed to eradicate the last Hamas armed wing battalions.
In the central Al-Nuseirat camp, one of the enclave's eight historic refugee camps, an Israeli air strike on a house killed 10 Palestinians, medics said.
The Israeli military said it eliminated a Hamas rocket cell that operated from inside a humanitarian-designated area. It said it carried out a precise strike after taking measures to ensure civilians were unharmed. Hamas denies Israeli accusations it uses civilian properties for military purposes.
The armed wings of Hamas and the Islamic Jihad said fighters attacked Israeli forces in several areas of the enclave by anti-tank rockets and mortar bombs.
Messenger/Sumon
