GAZA: Israeli forces bombarded cities, towns and refugee camps across Gaza overnight and into Thursday, killing dozens of people in an air and ground offensive against Hamas that has widened to most of the territory and forced thousands more to flee from homes and shelters.
An Israeli airstrike on a home in the northern town of Beit Lahiyeh one of the first targets of the ground invasion that began in October buried at least 21 people, including women and children, according to a family member.
Bassel Kheir al-Din, a journalist with a local TV station, said the strike flattened his family house and severely damaged three neighboring homes. He said 12 members of his family including three children were buried and presumed dead, and that nine neighbours were missing.
In central Gaza, Israeli warplanes and artillery pounded the built-up Bureij and Nuseirat refugee camps, leveling buildings, residents said. “It was another night of killing and massacres,” said Saeed Moustafa, a resident of the Nuseirat camp.