22 Palestinians killed in Israeli attacks on Gaza, communications blackout looms

Gaza: Israeli airstrikes claimed the lives of at least 22 Palestinians, including a journalist, as fuel shortages threaten to plunge Gaza into a communications blackout, officials warned.

The Civil Defence in Gaza reported eight fatalities and several injuries from an airstrike targeting a group of people and a house in the Shuja’iyya neighbourhood of Gaza City. Later, an airstrike on the Al-Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza killed seven people, Xinhua news agency reported.

In southern Gaza’s Khan Younis, medical officials at Nasser Hospital said that four bodies were recovered after aerial and artillery attacks struck multiple locations in the city. In Al-Nuseirat, central Gaza, Al-Awda Hospital reported three deaths, including journalist Sa’ed Nabhan of Al-Ghad TV, and six injuries from artillery shelling and drone strikes.

With the death of Nabhan, the number of journalists killed since the conflict began on October 7, 2023, has risen to 203, according to the government media office in Gaza.

Meanwhile, Gaza’s Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Abdul Razzaq Al-Natsha, warned that communication services, including internet and landlines, could be cut off by Friday night due to fuel shortages. The lack of fuel, exacerbated by Israel’s blockade of humanitarian supplies, threatens to disrupt emergency services and worsen the already dire humanitarian crisis, he said.

The ongoing conflict, now surpassing 460 days, began after a Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, which left over 1,200 Israelis dead and roughly 250 hostages taken. Israel’s large-scale military response in Gaza has caused over 46,000 Palestinian deaths, according to Gaza health authorities.

In another incident, Five people were killed and four others injured on Friday in an Israeli airstrike targeting Tayr Debba, a municipality in southern Lebanon’s Tyre district, the Lebanese Health Ministry reported.

According to the official National News Agency, an Israeli drone targeted a car in Tayr Debba, killing five and wounding four more, all of whom have been transferred to hospitals in Tyre.

Separately, the General Directorate of Civil Defence on Friday announced the recovery of five bodies it said were killed during recent Israeli strikes on the Lebanese town of Khiam, east of southern Lebanon.

Despite a ceasefire agreement with Lebanon, which took effect on November 27, 2024, Israel has conducted intermittent strikes in southern and eastern Lebanon, some of which have caused casualties.

Meanwhile, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement on Friday that Israeli aircraft struck a vehicle loaded with weapons belonging to Hezbollah in southern Lebanon.

The airstrike was launched after the IDF found several militants loading weapons onto the truck, according to the statement.

Earlier in the day, the IDF said in a separate statement that during searching operations in a southern Lebanese village, Israeli soldiers discovered a multi-barrel rocket launcher, hundreds of mortar shells, explosive devices, and RPG rifles inside a structure. It added that anti-tank fire positions and hidden weapons were also located nearby.

During another operation, Israeli troops found a weapons storage facility containing dozens of shoulder-launched missiles, explosive charges, and extensive military equipment, the IDF said, adding that all the weapons were either confiscated or dismantled.

IANS