Gaza Death Toll Rises to 69 As Israeli Air Raids Continue

Several hundred others have been injured in the ongoing violence.

Palestinian residents of Gaza Strip woke up on Thursday to mark Eid al-Fitr – one of the holiest occasions in the Islamic calendar – amid relentless aerial bombardment by Israel.

Heavy bombardment on the Gaza Strip continued early on Thursday as Israeli forces launched a series of air raids on various locations.

“Most of Gaza is awake,” Al Jazeera’s Safwat al-Kahlout said, noting that bombardments continue into the night and early on Thursday.

“From time to time you hear loud explosions, and the buildings are shaken.”

Hamas confirmed that its Gaza City commander, Bassem Issa, was killed in an Israeli air attack along with other senior members of the group. The national security office of Hamas was also reportedly hit again by Israeli strikes early on Thursday.

Local sources said Israeli fighter jets bombed sites belonging to Palestinian resistance groups, in addition to security and police buildings.

In Gaza City’s Tel al-Hawa neighborhood, a pregnant woman, Reema Telbani and her child were killed in an Israeli attack on their home. An elderly couple in Gaza’s Sheikh Zayed neighborhood were also buried under the rubble of their residence, after an Israeli strike.

Gaza’s Ministry of Health said the overall death toll since the start of the latest offensive stood at 69, including 17 children and eight women as of early Thursday. More than 390 others have been wounded.

Hamas also launched a barrage of rockets into occupied territories after Israeli missiles destroyed a third tower in the Gaza Strip.