Scores Killed As Israel Launches Ground Invasion of Gaza City – World news

Al Jazeera sources in Gaza emergency services reported that the death toll from the Israeli bombing of the Daraj residential neighborhood in central Gaza City has risen to 20.

The Israeli regime’s forces have shot and wounded a Palestinian man in Qalqilya in the occupied West Bank, Wafa news agency reported.

Citing local sources, the agency reported that the man had been pursued by Israeli special forces during a dawn raid in the Wadi Barham area of the city, before he was shot and arrested.

An Israeli army official has estimated 40 percent of Gaza City residents have fled the besieged city as troops move deeper into its center.

Palestinians have been forced to flee south to the al-Mawasi encampment, where hundreds of thousands of people are crammed into a sea of tents without sanitation, regular water access or basic services.

Israel has regularly struck al-Mawasi despite it being declared a “safe zone” and there is almost no room in the overcrowded zone for newcomers, prompting some people to return to Gaza City despite the risks.

Other displaced Palestinians in al-Mawasi have told Al Jazeera they expect to soon be forced further south into Egypt.

Palestine’s Foreign Ministry has called for “exceptional and urgent international intervention” to protect civilians and halt Israel’s invasion of Gaza City.

In a statement on X, the ministry said efforts through diplomacy to stop the war had proven a “failure” and called for action from the international community.

“The ministry views with grave concern the boastful statements by the occupation government about the start of the invasion of Gaza City and the endangering of the lives of hundreds of thousands of Palestinian civilians, who are at risk of being killed and displaced,” it said.

“The ministry calls for exceptional international intervention to stop this major crime and maximize political and diplomatic solutions that guarantee the immediate cessation of war and aggression, the protection of civilians, the prevention of their displacement from the Strip, the immediate release of hostages and prisoners, and the sustainable delivery of aid.”

Israel’s war on Gaza has killed at least 64,871 people and wounded 164,610 since October 2023.