Smoke rises in the skies over northern Gaza as Israeli shelling continues (Reuters)

Since dawn on Tuesday, the occupation army has continued its artillery and air bombardment on the north and center of the Gaza Strip, hours after Defense Minister Yoav Galant announced the end of the intensive ground operation in those areas, amid the interruption of communications and Internet services in the Gaza Strip for the fifth consecutive day and the firing of rockets on the Gaza envelope.

Al Jazeera correspondent reported that Israeli warplanes launched raids on Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip targeting citizens' homes, and confirmed renewed shelling on separate areas in the north.

The occupation bombardment focused on the towns of Beit Lahiya and Beit Hanoun, accompanied by intense fire from Israeli vehicles stationed on the outskirts of those areas, which was unusual during the past few days in the area.

#شاهد | Successive Attacks in the Northern Gaza Strip pic.twitter.com/xTBrDxM35Y

— Shehab News Agency (@ShehabAgency) January 16, 2024

Al-Jazeera correspondent said that 4 Palestinians from the same family were killed in an Israeli shelling that targeted a house in the tunnel area east of Gaza City.

He added that shelling targeted a school housing displaced people belonging to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) in the tunnel east of Gaza City, killing three Palestinians.

On the other hand, the occupation army claimed that it found about 100 rocket launchers around the town of Beit Lahiya and 60 rockets ready to be launched, saying that it also killed dozens of "Palestinian militants."

Rockets from the North

Al-Jazeera correspondent also reported the launch of a large rocket from the Gaza Strip towards the settlement of Netivot in the western Negev, stressing that the heavy Israeli artillery shelling targeted the sites from which the rockets were launched towards the western Negev.

The correspondent explained that Israeli sources stated that the rocket fire came from the northern Gaza Strip and targeted about 19 towns in the Gaza envelope and the western Negev.

He noted that the rocket thrust resulted in a direct hit in a building in the settlement of Netivot.

Israel's Channel 11 reported that about 50 rockets were fired as part of the latest batch of rockets targeting Netivot and other settlements around it.

Difficulty in rescue

In the southern Gaza Strip, where intensive Israeli ground operations continue, the Al Jazeera correspondent noted that Israeli artillery shelling continued on the areas of Qizan al-Najjar and al-Batn al-Samin in Khan Yunis.

He stressed that the civil defense crews were able to reach the areas of Abasan and Qarara in Khan Yunis, to recover the bodies of the martyrs after the Israeli bombardment focused on the two areas last period.

The correspondent stressed that the civil defense crews are late in reaching the areas that are being bombed due to the difficulty of communication with the continued interruption of communications, which puts the injured at risk of death.

He pointed out that the attempts of the civil defense crews to reach the areas under bombardment in Khan Bunis are dangerous, because the occupation forces shoot at everyone who moves, and its warplanes bombed the employees of the telecommunications company while they were trying to repair the damage to the lines.

This comes after the Israeli army announced that one officer was killed and two others were seriously wounded in fighting in the southern Gaza Strip last night.

This brought the number of officers and soldiers killed since the beginning of the war on October 7 to 523, including 189 since the beginning of the ground operation on October 27.

The Israeli aggression on the besieged Gaza Strip resulted in the death of 24,100 Palestinians and the injury of 60,832 others, and caused the displacement of more than 85% of the population of the Strip, amid the scarcity of humanitarian aid and the interruption of water and electricity supplies.

Source : Al Jazeera + Agencies