22 Palestinians killed in Israeli airstrike on house in Khan Yunis, Gaza Strip

GAZA, Palestine

A total of 22 Palestinians were killed and 100 injured in an Israeli airstrike that targeted a house belonging to a family in the city of Khan Yunis, the Gaza Interior Ministry announced on Thursday.

“The bodies of 22 martyrs have been retrieved thus far, with over 100 people rescued from under the rubble of the Abu Shamala family's house and its surroundings in Khan Yunis, following bombardment by the Israeli occupation," said a ministry statement viewed by Anadolu.

According to eyewitnesses, as reported by Anadolu correspondent, the Israeli shelling resulted in extensive destruction of homes and properties belonging to the local residents.

Khan Yunis is in the southern Gaza Strip, where Israel ordered Palestinians in the north to evacuate to on Oct. 12, despite warnings that this would lead to a humanitarian disaster. As such an evacuation would mean over a million people joining the million-plus people already in southern Gaza, there are reports of overcrowding in the south.

Nearly three weeks into the relentless campaign of Israeli airstrikes, at least 6,546 Palestinians have been killed, along with 1,400 Israelis killed in the conflict, according to official figures.

Officials and residents of Gaza have decried the Israeli airstrikes hitting residences, hospitals, and houses of worship, acts prohibited under international rules of war.

The conflict in Gaza began on Oct. 7 when the Palestinian group Hamas initiated Operation Al-Aqsa Flood – a multi-pronged surprise attack that included a barrage of rocket launches and infiltrations into Israel by land, sea, and air.

Hamas said the incursion was in retaliation for the storming of the Al-Aqsa Mosque and growing violence by Israeli settlers against Palestinians.

The Israeli military then launched a relentless bombardment of Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip.

Gaza’s 2.3 million residents have been running out of food, water, medicine, and fuel, and aid convoys recently allowed into Gaza have carried only a fraction of what is needed.

*Writing by Rania Abu Shamala