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At least 112 Palestinians were killed and 148 others were wounded in the last 24 hours as Israel continues its onslaught on the Gaza Strip, the Hamas-run health ministry announced on February 2.
“The Israeli occupation committed 13 massacres against families in the Gaza Strip, leaving 112 martyrs and 148 injured during the past 24 hours,” the ministry said in a statement.
“Many people are still trapped under rubble and on the roads as rescuers are unable to reach them,” it added.
According to the ministry, Israeli attacks on Gaza have claimed the lives of 27,131 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and left 66,287 others wounded since the outbreak of the war on October 7.
Despite the heavy human cost, Hamas and other Palestinian armed factions in Gaza continue to put on fierce resistance, inflicting losses on the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF).
Hamas’ military wing, Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, released video footage on February 1 showing its fighters targeting an excavator and a main battle tank of the IDF with rocket-propelled grenades and killing an Israeli officer with sniper rifle in the Gaza City’s western neighborhoods of Tel al-Hawa and Shiekh Rudwan in northern Gaza.
Two other videos released by the al-Quds Brigades, the military wing of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and the Mujahideen Brigade on February 2 showed an attack with heavy machine guns on an Israeli watchtower to the east of the Jabaliya refugee camp in the northern part of the Strip and rocket attack on gatherings of the IDF to the west of Gaza city.
Eight Israeli soldiers have been wounded over the past day, two seriously, according to Israeli newspaper Haaretz quoting IDF data. Three of the wounded were hit in Gaza. Meanwhile, the death toll of Israeli troops since the start of ground operations in the Strip stands at 223.
The IDF pulled several brigades from Gaza in recent weeks. However, it continues to expand operations in the south of the Strip, mainly in the city of Khan Younis.
According to recent reports, Israel and Hamas are close to an agreement that will include a long ceasefire and secure the release of many Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners. However, many details remain in the work and a final decision is yet to be made by either side.
