Thousands of Palestinians fled Gaza City en masse Wednesday as Israeli troops and tanks advanced deeper into the devastated area on the second day of a ground offensive that drew widespread international condemnation.
Israel's military said that air force and artillery units had struck the city over 150 times in the last few days, ahead of ground troops moving in. The strikes have toppled high-rise towers in areas densely populated by tent camps where thousands of Palestinians are sheltering. Israel claims the towers are being used by Hamas to surveil troops.
Overnight strikes killed at least 16 people, including women and children, hospital officials reported. The death count in Gaza is nearing 65,000 Palestinians since Israel launched the genocidal war on Oct. 7, 2023.
Meanwhile, Palestinians streamed out of the city – some by car, others on foot. Israel said it would open another corridor along a road hugging Gaza’s coastline for two hours Wednesday to allow more people to evacuate.
More than half of the Palestinians killed in overnight Israeli strikes were in famine-stricken Gaza City, including a child and his mother who died in their apartment in the Shati refugee camp, according to officials from Shifa Hospital, which received the casualties.
