On day 99 of the aggression, regions in the Gaza Strip experienced intense bombardment and clashes between the Palestinian resistance and Israeli occupying forces, while a complete blackout of telecommunications and internet services continues in the area for the second day.
The Al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), announced that it targeted 4 Israeli Merkava tanks and an armored personnel carrier with "Al-Yasin 105" projectiles east of Khan Yunus.
They also claimed to have detonated an anti-personnel explosive device against an Israeli force of 4 soldiers near a tunnel east of Khan Yunus, causing casualties and injuries among its ranks.
Furthermore, the Brigades stated that they shelled a gathering of Israeli military vehicles and soldiers east of Khan Yunus with heavy mortar rounds.
Al Jazeera's correspondent reported fierce clashes between the Palestinian resistance and infiltrating Israeli forces, amid intense artillery shelling on Khan Yunus.
Martyrs and Injuries
On Saturday, the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza announced an increase in the death toll from the Israeli aggression on the sector since October 7th, to 23,843 martyrs and 60,317 wounded.
The spokesperson for the ministry, Ashraf al-Qudra, stated in a press release, "The 99th day of the brutal Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip witnesses more massacres and destruction along with the wiping out of residential neighborhoods."
He added that "the Israeli occupation committed 12 massacres against families in the Gaza Strip, claiming the lives of 135 martyrs," and noted that 312 Palestinians were injured in the past 24 hours.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs accused Israel of obstructing efforts to send aid to the northern part of the sector.
The vicinity of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah, which is currently the only facility capable of providing health services and treating the wounded in the central part of the Strip, is experiencing clashes and Israeli ground operations. Israeli occupation aircraft targeted residential buildings near the hospital, and Israeli soldiers are positioned just hundreds of meters from the facility, according to eyewitnesses.
The remaining doctors at the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital warned that the proximity of military operations threatens the lives of preterm infants, who are fighting for their survival amidst power outages.
Hours earlier, intense gunfire and artillery shelling were heard in the Khan Yunus areas of Qizan al-Najjar and Al-Batn al-Samin.
Al Jazeera's correspondent also mentioned that Israeli shelling led to the martyrdom of several Palestinians in the town of Absan east of Khan Yunus.
Furthermore, the correspondent reported casualties and injuries amongst Palestinians due to an Israeli shelling that targeted a vehicle on the Rafah western road in the southern part of the sector.
Local sources said that the occupation targeted two vehicles near the Fares Petroleum Company in the area of Qizan al-Najjar south of Khan Yunus, amidst pleas for ambulances to be sent to the location.
Telecommunications Blackout
In the same context, Al Jazeera's correspondent confirmed the martyrdom of 3 Palestinians and injuries to others in an Israeli drone attack on Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip and reported heavy machine-gun clashes in the city.
Although the clashes are concentrated in the central and southern parts of the Strip, Israeli shelling continues to target the residents of northern Gaza, who face tragic conditions.
For its part, the Israeli army said it destroyed missile platforms ready for launch in Maghazi central Gaza Strip, without providing further details.
As of now, the Palestinian resistance factions have not commented on the Israeli statement.
Moreover, the Palestinian News Agency (WAFA) reported that the complete outage of telecommunications and internet services in the sector continues for the second consecutive day due to the ongoing Israeli aggression.
WAFA added that more than 80% of the telecommunications infrastructure in Gaza has been destroyed, and technical teams responsible for repairing the damage have been directly targeted while carrying out their work despite prior coordination with the occupation through international institutions.
This is the seventh time since the war began on October 7th that communications have been completely cut off in the besieged enclave, threatening the efforts to save the injured.
