Israeli strikes kill 151 more in Gaza

Israel’s latest attacks on Gaza have killed at least 151 people, including 11 in a single house, Palestinian health officials said yesterday, while the UN humanitarian office accused Israel of blocking its efforts to send aid to the north.

Meanwhile, all internet and telecom services in besieged Gaza were cut yesterday, the main operator said.

“We regret to announce that all telecom services in Gaza Strip have been lost due to the ongoing aggression. Gaza is blacked out again,” said Paltel in a post on X, formerly Twitter.

Residents reported continued aerial and ground fire across the territory from Israel, which has come under growing pressure to limit the number of civilian casualties.

Gaza health officials said the 11 people had been killed by a single air strike around dawn in a house in Deir Al-Balah belonging to the Fayad family, a prominent name in the city.

Israel said earlier that its forces had killed dozens of militants in nearby Maghazi and in the southern city of Khan Younis. The armed wings of Hamas and fellow Islamists Islamic Jihad each said their fighters had hit Israeli tanks and bulldozers with anti-tank rockets in several areas where Israel was operating.

“Distorted” genocide case

Israel yesterday also called a genocide case brought against it at the UN’s top court as “profoundly distorted” and “malevolent”.

South Africa has launched an emergency case at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) arguing that Israel stands in breach of the UN Genocide Convention, signed in 1948 in the wake of the Holocaust.

Pretoria wants judges to force Israel to “immediately” stop the Gaza campaign. At least 23,708 people, mostly women and children, have been killed in Israel’s offensive, according to Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry.

Both Israel and its ally the United States have dismissed the case as groundless and vowed a robust defence.