GAZA CITY, Palestine

At least 20 Palestinians were killed in an Israeli military incursion into eastern Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, medical sources said Wednesday.

Israeli forces staged the surprise incursion under heavy bombardment, shelling dozens of homes, according to witnesses.

Residents managed to recover the bodies of 20 people after Israeli forces withdrew from the area and they were transferred to Gaza European Hospital, medical sources said.

Israel has continued its brutal offensive on the Gaza Strip following an attack by the Palestinian group Hamas last Oct. 7, despite a UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate cease-fire.

More than 41,600 people have since been killed, mostly women and children, and over 96,400 others injured, according to local health authorities.

The Israeli onslaught has displaced almost the entire population of the territory amid an ongoing blockade that has led to severe shortages of food, clean water and medicine.

​​​​​​​Israel faces accusations of genocide at the International Court of Justice for its actions in Gaza.