Palestinian officials say 32 killed in Israeli strikes on southern Gaza

Israeli strikes in Gaza kill 32, including women and children, as conflict escalates with Hamas and Hezbollah.

At least 32 people have been killed in Israeli strikes in southern Gaza killed at least 32 people overnight and into Wednesday (October 2, 2024), Palestinian medical officials said.

The European Hospital in the hard-hit city of Khan Younis said it received the bodies after heavy Israeli airstrikes and ground operations in the city. It said the dead include several women and children, and that dozens of people were wounded.

There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military.

Israel has continued to strike what it says are militant targets across Gaza nearly a year after Hamas' Oct. 7 attack ignited the war there, even as attention has shifted to Lebanon, where Israel is battling Hezbollah, and to Iran, which launched a ballistic missile attack on Israel late Tuesday (October 1, 2024).

Dr. Saleh al-Hams, head of the nursing department at the European Hospital, said dozens of dead and wounded people were brought to his facility and the Nasser Hospital starting at around 3 a.m. “Some of the wounded were in critical condition, meaning the death toll could rise,” he said.

He said Israel had carried out heavy airstrikes as its ground forces staged an incursion into three neighborhoods in Khan Younis. Israel carried out a massive offensive earlier this year that left large parts of the city in ruins.

Over the course of the war, Israeli forces have repeatedly returned to areas of Gaza where they have previously fought Hamas and other armed groups as the militants have regrouped.