At least 15 Palestinians were killed and many others injured in a series of Israeli airstrikes on the central Gaza Strip on Saturday, according to Palestinian security and medical sources.
Medical staff at the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital reported that the bodies of at least 15 Palestinians and dozens of injured individuals were transported to the hospital.
The medical sources added that the victims were brought in by ambulances, civilian vehicles, and even primitive means of transportation due to the ongoing bombardment preventing civil defense teams from reaching them.
The hospital staff is struggling to cope with the influx of casualties due to a lack of fuel, medical equipment, and necessary treatment, the sources added.
Palestinian security sources said that the Israeli army targeted several residential homes and open areas in the Nuseirat refugee camp and the city of Deir al-Balah, resulting in multiple fatalities.
The security sources explained that a special Israeli military unit infiltrated the Nuseirat camp under the cover of aerial and ground military support. The unit besieged a house and engaged in a firefight with several Palestinian militants inside.
Eyewitnesses reported that several victims were lying in the streets of the Nuseirat camp, inaccessible to ambulances for evacuation.
In a related incident, the security sources noted that the Israeli army conducted a ground incursion east of Deir al-Balah, accompanied by intense clashes with Palestinian militants.
The Israeli army, in a brief statement, said, “Our forces are attacking a terrorist infrastructure in the area.”
The Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza revealed that a large number of the dead and injured, mostly children and women, were being transported to the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital due to ongoing Israeli airstrikes on several areas in the central Gaza Strip.
In a Facebook post, the ministry stated that dozens of injured people were lying on the ground, with medical teams striving to save them with limited resources.
The ministry highlighted that “the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital is facing a severe shortage of medicines, medical supplies, and fuel, along with the main generator being out of service.” The hospital is struggling to manage the increasing number of casualties from the ongoing bombardment.