Israelis Demolish Gaza Buildings to Create Buffer Zone, Reports Say
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Palestinian fighters launched mortar attacks on Israeli forces in southern Gaza, as Israel continued to demolish buildings to establish a buffer zone, according to war monitors.
Palestinian fighters fired mortar shells at Israeli forces stationed on the Netzarim Corridor, south of Gaza City, as Israeli combat engineers continued demolishing buildings in the area, reportedly to create a buffer zone, according to war monitors.
The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) and the Critical Threats Project (CTP) reported that Israeli media in July indicated the buffer zone along the corridor would span 4 kilometers (2.5 miles).
In southern Khan Younis, Palestinian Islamic Jihad detonated a minefield targeting Israeli forces on Monday, while intense fighting continued in Rafah, where Hamas targeted an Israeli tank with an armor-piercing explosive charge.
Palestinian fighters also engaged Israeli troops with sniper rifles and rocket-propelled grenades, ISW-CTP reported.
At least three rockets were launched from Gaza on Monday in two separate attacks targeting areas in Israel, according to the US-based defense think tanks.
In the Abasan al-Kabira area of eastern Khan Younis, an overnight Israeli strike on a home killed at least 10 people and wounded several others, as reported by the Wafa news agency.
In the southern Gaza Strip, civil defense announced that the bodies of two people were transferred to Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis after being recovered from Rafah.
“This is the worst place I’ve ever seen in my life and in the entire world,” said Egyptian-American physician Dr. Adam al-Hamwi, describing the situation in Gaza during a UK seminar titled Live Testimonies of Doctors Returning from Gaza.
Dr. al-Hamwi, who has a 30-year career in medicine, including work in war zones like Syria, Iraq, and Bosnia, noted that "Seventy percent of those we receive in Gaza hospitals die, a very high percentage" compared to other conflict zones where the death rate is around 10 percent.
The official death toll in the Gaza Strip from Israel’s genocidal war is approaching 40,000, though an independent scholarly estimate suggests the actual number is likely higher.
The Ministry of Health reported that 92,240 people have been wounded by Israeli attacks since October 7. It added that 32 Palestinians were killed and 88 wounded in the last 24 hours.