Israeli forces killed at least 16 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and wounded dozens in the southern enclave on Monday, local health officials said, as residents reported increased bombardment in the suburbs of Gaza City, Reuters reported, BTA reported.
The military is preparing to take over Gaza City, the largest urban center in the Palestinian enclave, despite international calls for Israel to reconsider its decision over concerns that the operation will result in significant casualties and force an estimated one million Palestinians who have taken refuge there to flee and seek shelter elsewhere.
Gaza residents said families were fleeing their homes, most heading for the coast, as Israeli forces bombed the eastern suburbs of Shejaya, Zeitoun and Sabra.
Today's deaths brought the total number of Palestinians killed by Israeli fire in the past 24 hours to 71, the health ministry said.
Israeli officials have described Gaza City as the last stronghold of Hamas, which ignited the war with its deadly October 2023 attack on Israel.
An Israeli army statement said the military was continuing to operate throughout the Gaza Strip, targeting what it described as "terrorist organizations" and infrastructure.
A spokesman for the International Committee of the Red Cross told Reuters that 31 patients, most with gunshot wounds, had been admitted to a Red Cross field hospital in the southern Gaza city of Rafah. Four of them were pronounced dead on arrival.
"The patients said they were injured while trying to reach the food distribution sites," the spokesman said, adding that since the food distribution sites began operating on May 27, the hospital had treated more than 5,000 "patients with gunshot wounds".
Dozens of Palestinians were admitted to Nasser Hospital in the nearby town of Khan Yunis with gunshot wounds to the upper body, a doctor there said, who said the military opened fire on a crowd of Palestinians gathered near an aid distribution site.
The Israeli army has not yet commented on the incident.