GAZA CITY, Palestine

At least four Palestinians were killed in an Israeli airstrike in southern Gaza on Monday as Tel Aviv continued a deadly offensive north of the enclave, a medical source said.

The source added that several people were also injured in the strike that targeted the Musabeh area in northern Rafah.

Israeli artillery also shelled the northern side of the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza, injuring several people, the source said.

The attacks came as the Israeli army continued to blow up Palestinian homes in the northern towns of Jabalia and Beit Lahia, according to witnesses.

Since Oct. 5, Israel has launched a large-scale ground operation in northern Gaza to allegedly prevent Palestinian resistance group Hamas from regrouping. Palestinians, however, accuse Israel of seeking to occupy the area and forcibly displace its residents.

Since then, no humanitarian aid, including food, medicine, and fuel, was allowed into the area, leaving most of the population there on the verge of imminent famine.

More than 2,000 people have since been killed, according to Palestinian health authorities.

The director of Kamal Adwan Hospital, Hussam Abu Safiya, appealed for allowing the entry of medicine and medical equipment for hospitals in northern Gaza.

In a brief statement, he warned that a halt of medical services in northern Gaza would exacerbate the already worsening humanitarian conditions in the area.

The onslaught was the latest episode in a brutal Israeli war on the Gaza Strip that has killed over 44,200 people, mostly women and children, since Oct. 7, 2023.

On Thursday, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice over its brutal war on Gaza.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar in Ankara