Israeli airstrikes crush apartments in Gaza refugee camp, as ground troops battle Hamas militants

Khan Younis, November 1

A barrage of Israeli airstrikes levelled apartment buildings in a refugee camp near Gaza City on Tuesday, and footage showed rescuers pulling men, women and children out of the rubble.

Israel said the strike destroyed a Hamas command centre set up in civilian houses and a network of tunnels underneath.

The toll from the strikes in the Jabaliya camp was not immediately known. The Israeli military said a large number of militants were killed, including the commander overseeing Hamas operations in northern Gaza.

The director of the nearby hospital where casualties were taken, Dr Atef Al-Kahlot, said hundreds were wounded or killed, but he did not provide exact figures. Neither side’s account could be independently confirmed.

The strike underlined the anticipated surge in casualties on both sides as Israeli troops battling Hamas militants advance deeper into the northern Gaza Strip toward dense, residential neighbourhoods. Israel has vowed to crush Hamas’ ability to govern Gaza or threaten Israel following its bloody October 7 rampage, which ignited the war.

Israel said two of its soldiers were killed in fighting in northern Gaza, the first military deaths it reported since the ground offensive into the tiny Mediterranean territory accelerated late last week.

Several hundred thousand Palestinians remain in northern Gaza in the path of the ground assault. They have crowded into homes or are packed by the thousands into hospitals that are already overwhelmed with patients and running low on supplies.