CAIRO: Israel carried out air strikes on dozens of Hamas targets in Gaza over the past 24 hours, it said on Friday (Jan 3), in attacks that Palestinian health authorities said had killed nearly 100 people.
The surge in operations and casualties comes amid a renewed push to reach a ceasefire agreement before US President-elect Donald Trump takes office this month, with Israeli mediators dispatched on Thursday to Doha, to resume talks brokered by Qatari and Egyptian mediators.
The Gaza health ministry said 27 people were killed early on Friday, after 71 were killed a day earlier including in Al-Mawasi, an area in central Gaza previously declared as a humanitarian safe zone by Israeli authorities.
The Israeli military said it had hit around 40 Hamas gathering points as well as command and control centres. It said it had taken numerous measures to reduce the risk of harming civilians, including using precise munitions, aerial surveillance, and other intelligence.
It accused Hamas, the extremist movement that formerly controlled Gaza, of placing fighters in civilian areas including buildings formerly used as schools. Hamas rejects accusations it deliberately uses the civilian population to shield fighters.
On Friday, the military told civilians in the area of al-Bureij in central Gaza to evacuate ahead of an operation ordered following rocket attacks from the area. It said residents should move to the humanitarian zone for their own safety.
