Many of those killed in the overnight Israeli air raids were families who fled northern Gaza as ordered by Israel.
More than 70 people have been killed in their homes after Israel conducted air raids on Gazaâs Khan Younis, Rafah and Deir el-Balah, according to the besieged Palestinian enclaveâs Ministry of Health.
The deaths came overnight on Tuesday, about 10 days after Israel started its retaliation against the deadly attacks on southern Israel by Hamas, the armed group that rules Gaza.
The violence has killed at least 1,400 people in Israel and more than 2,800 in Gaza since October 7.
Many of those killed in the latest Israeli air raids were those evacuated from Gaza City and the northern part of the Gaza Strip as ordered by Israel, Al Jazeeraâs Safwat Kahlout reported from Gaza.
âAmbulances are transporting the injured to already overcrowded hospitals, and we are told that many people are still trapped in the rubble of the targeted buildings, awaiting rescue,â he added.
âTargeting childrenâ
Standing in front of Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, an employee of the Emergency Medical Services, who held the body of an infant in his arms, told Al Jazeera: âIsrael is targeting children.â
Another person told Al Jazeera that his whole neighbourhood was in ruins.
âWe were all asleep and woke up [in the early morning before dawn] to pray. Immediately afterwards, our house with 40 people inside, old and young, was hit,â he said.
âSuddenly the entire neighbourhood was in ruins. The scenes I witnessed are indescribable, with bodies all around me,â he added.
Meanwhile, Israel is preparing for a ground offensive.
Al Jazeeraâs Teresa Bo, reporting from Israelâs southern city of Sderot, said the troops continued to move towards the barrier fence with Gaza.
âWe have seen armoured vehicles, tanks and lots of soldiers. Theyâre also using vessels from the sea with precision-guided munitions,â she said.
âHowever, right now, the big question is when this [ground invasion] operation will take place.â
SOURCE: AL JAZEERA