Al-Quds Brigades, the armed wing of the Jihad Movement, announced that they are engaged in fierce clashes with Israeli soldiers in the advance fronts north and east of Khan Younis, while an Israeli army spokesperson reported the killing of 30 Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip in less than one day. Palestinian media indicated heavy Israeli artillery bombardment east of the Rafah crossing in southern Gaza.
Simultaneously with the intense Israeli shelling in the center and south of the strip, the Israeli army vowed to expand the fighting against Hamas in central and southern Gaza. An Israeli military spokesperson stated that Israeli forces would increase pressure on Hamas, as the troops advanced into the town of Khuza’a in southern Gaza. The army stated that the fifth brigade’s combat team is operating in Khuza’a for the first time since the commencement of military operations.
The spokesperson also mentioned that Israeli forces struck a significant number of Hamas fighters, noting the discovery of numerous weapons. Meanwhile, another Palestinian journalist was killed late on Friday in an Israeli strike that targeted his home in the Al-Nuseirat camp in the Gaza Strip. The Palestinian news agency reported that journalist Jabir Abu Hadrous was killed along with members of his family after their inhabited home was bombed in the camp. According to the agency, the number of Palestinian journalist casualties since the beginning of the current war in the Gaza Strip has risen to 106.
On Friday, the Israeli army continued its concentrated bombardment of southern Gaza, where the humanitarian situation is catastrophic according to the United Nations, which requested that “all parties” facilitate the delivery of aid. As the war approaches its third month, a delegation from Hamas arrived in Cairo to discuss a ceasefire proposal put forth by Egypt.
Following another night of destructive shelling concentrated in the center and south of the strip, Palestinians rushed to the Martyrs of Al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir al-Balah (central strip) to identify the corpses of their relatives. Medics carried wounded men, women, and children whose clothing was stained with blood, while some were treated on the ground.
