Mass Casualties in Gaza, Lebanon As Israeli Strikes Target Residential Areas

Gaza’s Government Media Office reports that 84 Palestinians, including more than 50 children, were killed in two Israeli airstrikes on residential buildings in northern Gaza, with the strikes being described as “brutal massacres.” Heavy Israeli bombardments were also reported in Lebanon, targeting dozens of towns and villages.

Al Jazeera Arabic reported that Israeli forces destroyed residential buildings north of the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza. UN staff in the area recounted the intensity of the assault, saying civilians were trapped amid 24 hours of nonstop Israeli artillery fire, airstrikes, drone attacks, and bombardment from Israeli naval vessels on Friday.

The ongoing Israeli military operation has spanned the entire Gaza Strip, with an intense focus on the Nuseirat refugee camp. Observers noted a marked increase in artillery attacks alongside aerial bombardments by Israeli fighter jets and drones targeting civilians.

Residential buildings filled with civilians have been struck, with people in Nuseirat fleeing to neighboring towns like Deir el-Balah and Maghazi for shelter, only to face continued attacks from Israeli drones and ground forces in those areas.

Meanwhile, Israel’s airstrikes have also intensified across the northern part of Gaza, particularly in Beit Lahiya, which has been reduced to rubble due to ongoing bombardments.

Louise Wateridge, senior emergency officer for the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), spoke to Al Jazeera from the Nuseirat camp, expressing frustration at the obstacles to humanitarian aid.

“How on earth can humanitarians move aid from the borders to the people in need when there is shelling? When there are airstrikes. When there are drones. When there is navy fire. That is what we have had for the last 24 hours, and it is making the humanitarian response here absolutely impossible,” Wateridge said. She described the situation as “absolutely terrifying,” adding that Friday was one of the worst days she had experienced in Gaza. “I have been here since April. I’ve been here through the Rafah incursions. We’ve heard horrific stories in the north. We can’t get to the north. It’s besieged,” she said.

“With this bombing around us, this constant bombardment, it is terrifying. You can hear children crying. People screaming. People running for their lives. And it has been nonstop for 24 hours. There is nowhere to go. People are trapped,” she said, emphasizing the dire reality for civilians unable to leave the Gaza Strip.

In Lebanon, heavy Israeli airstrikes continued across the Bekaa Valley, in eastern Lebanon, where dozens of people have reportedly been killed. Over 25 towns and villages were targeted, with significant destruction reported. The Israeli military reportedly warned civilians against returning to the area to check on their homes, many of which were destroyed, indicating a likely continued focus on operations in the eastern part of Lebanon.

In southern Lebanon, the port city of Tyre also came under heavy fire, with a massive airstrike hitting the center of the city. No warning was issued before this attack, adding to the challenges faced by civilians already dealing with destruction and displacement in the ongoing conflict.

Israel's genocide in Gaza has killed at least 43,259 Palestinians and injured 101,827 since October 7, 2023.

Since the start of the war on Gaza, Israeli attacks in Lebanon have killed at least 2,897 people and injured 13,150, with 30 people killed in the last 24 hours, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry.