GAZA CITY, Palestine

The Palestinian resistance group Hamas said Sunday that finding the bodies of around 100 people who were killed by the Israeli army after it withdrew from areas of Gaza City “indicates the criminal approach pursued by this entity” with the aim of genocide.

“Finding nearly 100 martyrs following the withdrawal of occupation forces from the neighborhoods of Al-Remal and Tal al-Hawa in Gaza City, most of whom were killed by the occupation snipers' gunfire, points to the criminal approach pursued by this entity,” it said in a statement.

“It aims to exterminate and forcibly drive our people away from their land,” it said.

Hamas called on the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to document these crimes and to adopt a decision to halt the war and take all measures to stop the atrocities.

Over the past two days, Palestinians and medical teams have recovered dozens of bodies scattered in streets and in residential homes following the partial withdrawal of the Israeli army from areas in western Gaza City.

The Israeli army continues to target civilians in various parts of Gaza despite the trial it has faced in the ICJ on charges of committing genocide against Palestinians.

There are no immediate statistics from the Palestinian Ministry of Health regarding the number of fatalities found after the Israeli withdrawal.

The partial withdrawal also revealed the extensive destruction of homes and infrastructure, with homes burnt to the ground, according to witnesses.

Since mid-December last year, the army has been gradually withdrawing from areas in the northern governorate of the Gaza Strip, followed in early January by partial withdrawals from neighborhoods and areas in Gaza governorate.

Occasionally, some areas in Gaza and the north witness partial advances by Israeli vehicles as part of a maneuver during which the army conducts military operations and then withdraws after a few days.

*Writing by Rania Abu Shamala