THE Hamas Movement has condemned the ongoing Israeli massacres on the Gaza Strip, saying: ‘The Nazi Zionist enemy continues to brutally target civilians in the Gaza Strip, and implement new massacres against children, women and the elderly.’
In its statement, Hamas denounced ‘the Israeli airstrikes targeting a residential square in Al-Shati camp, west of Gaza City, Al-Tufah and Al-Zayton neighbourhoods, and the displaced tents in the Al-Mawsi area west of Khan Yunis and Rafah, which led to the martyrdom of dozens of citizens, as part of the ongoing Israeli genocide war on Gaza, which has been waged for more than eight months in violation of all international laws.’
Hamas added: ‘The horrific series of the Zionist crimes against civilians require more effective and serious activism from the international community to oblige Israel to halt its crimes and violations against our defenceless people in the Gaza Strip.’
Earlier on Saturday, the Israeli occupation army killed 54 citizens and wounded many children and women in three massacres committed in three different sites in Gaza City.
Local sources said Israeli warplanes bombed a residential square in Al-Shati camp, west of Gaza City, destroying seven homes which collapsed on top of the residents killing 24 and injuring dozens of others.
The Civil Defence said its crews in Gaza managed to retrieve a number of dead and wounded, most of them children and women, and rescue teams are still searching for victims under the rubble.
Israeli airstrikes also targeted a house near Jabal Al-Rayes, east of Al-Tufah neighbourhood, in Gaza City, killing 19 citizens and injuring many others.
The Gaza Civil Defence also confirmed recovering 19 bodies and more than 35 injured, including critical cases, after Israeli airstrikes hit a the Shabit family home near Al-Batsh cemetery in the Al-Tufah neighbourhood. A number of people are still missing under the debris.
High levels of acute malnutrition and food shortages in the Gaza Strip have led to more deaths of children and newborns, according to medical sources.
Another child died on Saturday as a result of malnutrition and the lack of appropriate health care at the Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza, raising the total this week to four children, amid ongoing Israeli restrictions on entry of aid.
‘We have lost a child in the hospital’s nursery department in recent hours due to malnutrition,’ Husam Abu Safiya, director of the hospital, told a news conference on Saturday.
He said that over the past two weeks, the hospital had diagnosed over 250 children with malnutrition, warning that the Gaza Strip ‘is facing a real health catastrophe that has started to affect children and may worsen to include adults.’
Abu Safiya urged international organisations to intensify relief efforts in northern Gaza, and work on providing Gaza with food, clean water, fuel, and essential equipment for waste disposal.
The Kamal Adwan Hospital only has fuel for one day to operate power generators and may stop providing its services completely, according to its director.
Meanwhile, the Fannana family home was also bombed in the Al-Shujaiya neighbourhood in Gaza, killing four people.
Seven others were also killed in Israeli artillery shelling on Saturday morning in the Al-Zaytoun neighbourhood, southeast of Gaza City.
On Friday, 42 Palestinians were killed, and 85 others wounded in several Israeli raids on Gaza City. Most of the casualties were women and children.
