21 Palestinians killed in Israeli attacks across Gaza

At least 21 Palestinians were killed on Tuesday in Israeli attacks in northern and central Gaza Strip, reported Xinhua, quoting Palestinian sources.

Israeli jets bombed two houses in the town of Beit Hanoun, far north of the Strip, the Palestinian Civil Defense Authority in Gaza said in a brief statement.

Medics told Xinhua that the attack killed at least 15 people, including women and children, and wounded some others with varying degrees of injury.

An Israeli drone also bombed a gathering of Palestinians near a clinic affiliated with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) west of Deir al-Balah city in the central Gaza Strip, according to sources.

Medical sources at the Al-Aqsa Hospital in the city told Xinhua that six people were killed and several others injured, some seriously.

In addition, the Israeli army besieged about 130 families inside three shelters turned from schools in Beit Hanoun and forced those inside to leave the town, according to local sources and eyewitnesses.

The sources and witnesses told Xinhua that the displaced people left shelters under heavy gunfire.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement on Tuesday that the army is continuing the operation in the area of Jabalia. Over the past week, troops have been conducting raids to "neutralize the threat" in the area of Beit Lahia, it said.

Israel has been launching a large-scale offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip to retaliate against a Hamas rampage through the southern Israeli border on Oct. 7, 2023, during which about 1,200 people were killed and about 250 taken hostage.

The Palestinian death toll from ongoing Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip has risen to 43,665, Gaza-based health authorities said in a statement on Tuesday.