Jabalia: Israel air strike kills dozens at Gaza refugee camp Fierce fighting underway

An Israeli air strike is reported to have killed dozens of people at Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza, per BBC.

Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry said 50 people were killed and 150 wounded. But a nearby hospital said it received 400 casualties, including 120 dead.

Pictures showed several large craters, surrounded by shattered buildings.

A long line of body bags were laid outside the Indonesian Hospital, in nearby Beit Lahia. Its surgical director told the BBC's International editor Jeremy Bowen that it received 400 casualties, including 120 dead, and that the majority were children and women.

The Israeli military said the strike killed a senior Hamas commander and "underground terror infrastructure" beneath buildings collapsed afterwards.

Israeli tanks and troops, meanwhile, continued to advance towards some of northern Gaza's most populated areas, including Jabalia.

The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) is now storming the Gaza Strip from five directions.

If the IDF's actions are successful, the Israeli military will be able to begin advancing deep into the Palestinian enclave.

At the moment, "fierce fighting" between the Israeli military and Palestinian groups is going on in the north of the Gaza Strip near the Beit Hanoun checkpoint. It is noted that both sides during the clashes suffered losses, but the number of dead and wounded neither the IDF nor representatives of the Palestinian movement Hamas did not disclose.

It is specified that the IDF ground forces' offensives are being conducted simultaneously with massive air attacks and artillery shelling of the Gaza Strip.

Meanwhile, the Arab leaders keep on demanding a truce in Gaza.

Jordan's King Abdullah II, who held telephone talks with US President Joe Biden, said the international community should ensure uninterrupted access to humanitarian aid to the population of the Gaza Strip, which is suffering from military operations.

"It is necessary to immediately declare a humanitarian truce in the Palestinian enclave, achieve a ceasefire and move from war to a political settlement," the monarch said. As Abdullah II emphasised, "the only [way] to resolve the Middle East conflict is the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital, which will coexist peacefully with Israel".

The Israeli government in a draft proposal has floated the idea of transferring Gaza’s 2.3 million people to Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula. The proposal has already drawn condemnation and rejection from Palestinians.

The United Nations also spoke against the forced displacement of people.

Official representative of the UN Secretary-General Stephane Dujarric made the statement in connection with the information that the Israeli authorities were considering the possibility of transferring 2.3 million residents of the Gaza Strip to Egypt on the Sinai Peninsula.

He was asked to comment on this information and clarify the reaction of the World Organisation to the possible existence of such a plan.

"We unequivocally speak out against the forced mass displacement of people. Full stop," Dujarric said.

Amid Gaza's health ministry statement of more than 8,500 people killed in the territory, Italy said it is considering the possibility of organising a field hospital in the Gaza Strip.

"Another Air Force plane with humanitarian aid for the population of the Gaza Strip landed at the airport of El-Arish city. We are also considering the possibility of setting up a field hospital in Gaza," Defence Minister Guido Crozetto wrote on his page on the social network X (formerly Twitter).