Israeli attacks on Gaza kill 65, including 14 members of the same family

Israeli air and artillery fire continue to bombard Gaza, killing at least 65 people on Friday, including 14 members of the same family.

Among those, 48 people were killed in Gaza City and the north of the besieged territory, according to medical sources.

Al Jazeera’s Hani Mahmoud, reporting from Gaza City, said it was another “sleepless night” in the area.  “Israeli forces are using remotely operated explosive devices in neighborhoods, coupled with heavy air and artillery attacks covering much of the eastern part of Gaza City,” he reported.

“The Israeli military is also using the intimidating tactic of illuminating the skies above Gaza City. For the second night in a row, they used flare bombs, creating fear among displaced people already forced to seek shelter anywhere they can find it.”

The 14 members of the same family – the Sultan family – who were killed, also died in Gaza City in a single Israeli attack on their home in the at-Twam area.

Palestinian group Hamas condemned Friday’s air raids and the strike on the Sultans, accusing Israel of waging a campaign of “terror and organised war crimes” through the destruction of residential towers and targeting of civilians, saying such actions are in violation of international law.

It also decried continued global “inaction and complicity”, saying it is only emboldening Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government to intensify genocide and forced displacement against Palestinians.

In Gaza City’s Daraj neighbourhood, Israeli drone fire killed a child and wounded others, a source at the nearby al-Ahli Hospital told Al Jazeera.

Elsewhere, Israeli attacks destroyed a school located in the Shati refugee camp in northern Gaza.  “Many people had taken refuge in it, but have now been forced back into the streets one more time,” Al Jazeera’s Mahmoud added.

Meanwhile, in western Gaza City, an Israeli attack targeted a cluster of residences, including a residential tower across the street from a UNRWA medical facility, Mahmoud reported.

“As far as we know, the tower is still standing, though it sustained a great deal of damage.  But the cluster of homes was completely destroyed.”

In a statement on X on Friday, the Israeli military said it struck 500 targets in Gaza City this week, as it advances an assault to forcibly displace about one million residents and seize control of the area.

Israel’s security cabinet in August approved a plan by Netanyahu for the military occupation of Gaza City, which has displaced tens of thousands of people.

[ SOURCE: AL JAZEERA and NEWS AGENCIES ]