Dozens of Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks across Gaza, including a drone strike on a cafe in the al-Mawasi area in the south of the territory which was previously designated a “safe zone” by Israel’s military.
An Israeli strike late on Monday hit a makeshift cafeteria used by displaced people in al-Mawasi.
At least 11 people were killed, including two children, according to officials at Nasser Hospital, where the casualties were taken. Video from the scene showed men pulling the wounded from among tables and chairs set up in the sand in an enclosure made of corrugated metal sheets.
In northern Gaza, Palestinians were forced to flee shelters and camps in Beit Hanoon, according to Al Jazeera’s Hani Mahmoud, as Israeli forces escalated an offensive in the area.
“The Israeli army surrounded an evacuation centre and a school housing hundreds of Palestinians, calling on them to flee southwards,” he said.
“The Israeli soldiers had ordered women to flee southwards without allowing them to take any sort of aid. As soon as they left the school, they were targeted by Israeli quadcopter drones as a method of intimidation.”
The evacuations come after Israeli forces bombarded the area overnight. Sohair Abu Ouda, an evacuee from Beit Hanoon, said Israeli forces were “wreaking killing in Beit Hanoon all night long, pounding the few buildings still standing”.
“We could not even bury the dead,” Abu Ouda said.”Many bodies are still buried under the debris. Israeli warplanes, quadcopters and artillery have been bombarding us all night long. Even snipers were deployed and started gunning down civilians.”
In the southern city of Khan Younis, 11 people were killed in Israeli air strikes on vehicles, according to the Nasser Hospital.
Another strike early Tuesday hit a house in the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza, killing three people including a woman, according to al-Awda Hospital, which received the casualties. The strike wounded 11 others, it said.
There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military on the strikes.
At least 43,665 people have been killed and 103,076 wounded in Israeli military attacks on Gaza since October 7, 2023, according to Palestinian health officials.