DaysofPal – At least 17 Palestinians were killed on Wednesday afternoon when Israeli occupation forces bombed tents sheltering displaced families in the Al-Shalayat area west of Gaza City, according to medical sources. The attack, described by residents as a massacre, left dozens more wounded.
The strike on Al-Shalayat was part of a broader wave of bombardments across Gaza City and beyond. In the Sheikh Radwan neighborhood, one person was killed when Israeli forces detonated an explosive-laden armored vehicle among residential homes. In central Gaza, an Israeli drone also bombed a tent near the Baptist Hospital in Palestine Square, killing one person and wounding others. Another Palestinian was killed in an airstrike on Al-Rashid Street, a route long used by civilians fleeing south.
Later in the day, a child was killed and others injured when Israeli aircraft struck tents near the Technical College in Deir al-Balah. The army also targeted the Ibn Taymiyyah and Yafa mosques, sparking a fire. In a statement, the Israeli military claimed it would strike the Al-Tiba Tower in Gaza City, alleging Hamas infrastructure was located inside or nearby.
The latest round of attacks came just hours after the Israeli army ordered residents to evacuate Gaza Port and southern Al-Rimal, specifically warning of strikes on Al-Tiba Tower and surrounding tents. Overnight, the army spokesperson issued a sweeping evacuation order for all of Gaza City, from the Old City and Al-Tafah in the east to the Mediterranean in the west, urging residents to flee toward Al-Mawasi via Al-Rashid Street. Remaining in those areas, the spokesperson warned, was “extremely dangerous.”
Hospital officials reported that 34 Palestinians were killed across Gaza on Wednesday alone, including 26 in Gaza City. The airstrikes continued at an intense pace, accompanied by Israeli threats to destroy the city if Palestinian resistance groups do not accept conditions set by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government for a ceasefire.
Israel has declared the launch of “Operation Swords of Iron 2,” saying it has entered the first stage of occupying Gaza City. In recent days, its warplanes have destroyed multiple residential towers in what observers describe as a campaign to forcibly displace residents southward.
Since October 7, 2023, Israel’s assault, backed by the United States and European allies, has left more than 227,000 Palestinians killed or injured, most of them women and children, with over 11,000 missing. Hundreds of thousands remain displaced, while famine and starvation have claimed thousands of lives, particularly among children. Much of Gaza’s urban landscape has been reduced to rubble, with entire neighborhoods erased.
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