Israeli tanks push deep into central Gaza town; an air strike kills 20 in south.

On Thursday, Israeli tanks penetrated a village located in the center Gaza Strip. This came after many days of unrelenting bombing, which resulted in the displacement of tens of thousands of Palestinian people who had previously been forced to evacuate with their family.

A journalist from Palestine shared photographs of Israeli tanks near a mosque in a densely populated region of Bureij. The armored force appeared to have moved from orchards located on the eastern boundaries of the Palestinian territory.

Israeli troops struck the region around a hospital in the center of Khan Younis, the most crucial city in Gaza’s southern region. Residents of Khan Younis were concerned about a fresh ground push into territory that was already congested with people who had been forced to flee their homes as a result of the 12-week conflict between Israel and Hamas.

As a result of Israel’s most recent lethal bombing, twenty Palestinians were murdered, and fifty-five others were injured in Rafah, a large town located close to the southern border with Egypt, according to Ashraf Al-Qidra, a spokesman for the Gaza health ministry. As far as local medics and locals are concerned, their bombed building was sheltering citizens who had been previously relocated.

According to a video obtained by Reuters, rescue workers were seen quickly searching through the debris to locate and rescue casualties, who included a newborn and many children. They then rushed the patients to the Kuwaiti Hospital, which was located close, amid crowds of people who were disoriented and crying.

Palestinian health officials said yesterday that 210 Palestinians had been proven to have been killed in Israeli attacks over the last twenty-four hours. This brings the total number of Palestinians who have been murdered in the conflict to 21,320, which is approximately one percent of Gaza’s population. A further tens of thousands of people were thought to have been buried or lost among the wreckage.

Throughout the conflict, the Israeli military has expressed sadness for the deaths of civilians. Yet, it has also accused Hamas of operating in densely populated areas and using people as human shields, which is an allegation that Hamas has denied.

Since shortly before Christmas, Israel has significantly increased the intensity of its ground attack in Gaza, even though the United States, Israel’s closest friend, has publicly pleaded with Israel to reduce the intensity of the campaign in the last weeks of the year.

It began the war to destroy the militant Islamist Hamas movement that is in control of Gaza. This came about when fighters carried out a cross-border operation on October 7, during which they killed around 1,200 people and took approximately 240 captives.

A representative for the Israeli government stated on Thursday that out of the captives, 110 were released during a brief ceasefire that took place at the end of November, and another 23 have been ruled dead in absentia pending further investigation.

The primary concentration of the battle is currently in the central districts south of the marshes that divide the short coastal strip. Israeli troops have issued orders for people to evacuate these areas over the previous few days as their tanks have been getting closer.

On Thursday, tens of thousands of people leaving the densely populated districts of Nusseirat, Bureij, and Maghazi were moving south or west toward the already overrun city of Deir al-Balah along the Mediterranean coast. They were pouring into camps of temporary tents that had been quickly constructed.

In a post on social media, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), which is the primary United Nations organization working in Gaza, stated that “over 150,000 people – young children, women carrying babies, people with disabilities, and the elderly – have nowhere to go.”

On Thursday morning, the eastern half of Bureij was a theater of fierce action, with Israeli tanks thrusting in from the north and east, according to civilians and militants. The violence escalated throughout the morning.

Omar, who is sixty years old, stated that he had been compelled to relocate with at least 35 family members. “That moment has come; I wish it would never happen, but it seems displacement is a must,” he claimed. Because he feared being punished, he chose not to reveal his surname.

Yamen Hamad, who has been residing at a school in Deir al-Balah ever since he fled from the north, stated that the people who had just been displaced from Bureij and Nusseirat were erecting tents wherever there was open land.

FIGHTING NEAR THE HOSPITAL IN KHAN YOUNIS Khan Younis, which is where Israeli troops pushed this month after a truce broke down on December 1, also came under intense shelling on Thursday morning from jets and tanks near the al-Amal hospital, which is located west of Israeli lines.

Ten Palestinians were killed, and twelve others were injured in a single bombing that took place at the hospital, according to the Palestinian Red Crescent, which operates the hospital and has its headquarters in the vicinity. This was the third attack that targeted the area around the hospital in less than an hour.

The residents of the area expressed their belief that Israeli soldiers were attempting to incite a new exodus in preparation for a subsequent ground attack.

A short distance away, at Nasser Hospital, which is the primary medical facility in Khan Younis and the largest hospital in Gaza that is still operational, women and children screamed as medical personnel carried in the injured and deceased.

A little child was lying motionless on a cot as medical personnel attempted to bring him back to life. One of the doctors stated, “No,” indicating that the child had passed away.

During the ground assault, Israel announced the deaths of three more of its soldiers, bringing the total number of soldiers killed to 169. Some of the most significant casualties of the conflict have occurred during the previous week.

Nearly all of Gaza’s 2.3 million citizens have been forced to leave their homes at least once, and many of them have been forced to leave their houses many times. Even now, there are just a few operational hospitals.

According to the Palestinian health ministry, the Israeli military issued a statement on Thursday expressing its “regret” for the harm caused to uninvolved civilians as a result of an air attack that occurred on December 24 at the Maghazi refugee camp. The strike resulted in the deaths of seventy individuals.

A preliminary investigation revealed that more structures in the vicinity were also bombed, “which likely caused unintended harm to additional uninvolved civilians,” according to the statement. Two targets were struck by airplanes that were located next to the location where Hamas terrorists were operating. It further stated: “The IDF… is acting to draw conclusions and learn lessons from this event.”

The Palestinian Ministry of Health condemned the incident as a slaughter that took place in a residential plaza that was packed with people.

This month, Vice President Joe Biden of the United States issued a warning that “indiscriminate bombing” in Gaza might put Israel’s allies’ support for the country in jeopardy. Israel should cease its full-scale combat assault and instead focus on a targeted effort against Hamas leaders, according to statements made by the United States government.

Egypt, which has been acting as a mediator and hosted the head of Hamas last week, stated that it had presented a proposal to halt the killing, which included a three-stage plan for a ceasefire, but that it had not yet heard the reactions from the warring sides.