Israel Launches Massive Air Strikes on Gaza, Killing 30 and Wounding Hundreds

Patrick OdeyOctober 11, 2023

1 minute read

People watch as a firetruck is deployed outside a burning collapsed building following Israeli bombardment in Gaza City on October 11, 2023. - At least 30 people have been killed and hundreds wounded as Israel pounded the Gaza Strip with hundreds of air strikes overnight, a Hamas government official said on October 11. The Israeli military confirmed it had hit several Hamas targets during the night in the Palestinian enclave. (Photo by MOHAMMED ABED / AFP)

Israel unleashed a barrage of air strikes on the Gaza Strip overnight, killing at least 30 people and wounding hundreds more, according to a Hamas official.

The Israeli military said it targeted several Hamas and Islamic Jihad sites, including detection systems, bank branches, weapons storage, and command centres.

Salama Marouf, the head of the government’s media office in Gaza, told AFP that dozens of buildings were hit by the Israeli air strikes, including residential complexes, factories, mosques, and shops. He said that the death toll could rise as rescue workers were still searching for survivors under the rubble.

The Israeli military said in a statement that its fighter jets destroyed “advanced detection systems” that Hamas used to spot military aircraft.

It also said it hit 80 Hamas targets in the Beit Hanoun area of the northeastern Gaza Strip, including two bank branches that were used by the Islamist group to “fund terrorism” in the enclave.

In addition, the military said it struck a weapons storage facility and an operational command centre used by the Islamic Jihad militant group, another faction that operates in Gaza. It said it was responding to rocket attacks from Gaza that targeted Israeli cities and towns.

The escalation of violence came after weeks of tensions over the planned evictions of Palestinian families from East Jerusalem, a flashpoint area that both Israelis and Palestinians claim as their capital.

The situation worsened on Monday when Israeli police stormed the Al-Aqsa mosque compound, one of the holiest sites in Islam, and clashed with Palestinian worshippers.

The United Nations, the United States, and other countries have called for calm and restraint from both sides, warning that the situation could spiral out of control and lead to a full-scale war. The last major conflict between Israel and Gaza was in 2014, when more than 2,000 Palestinians and 70 Israelis were killed in 50 days of fighting.

AFP