The Israeli occupation forces targeted a restaurant, a crowded market, a school housing displaced persons in Gaza City, and several homes in the north, center, and south of the Strip in a series of airstrikes, according to medical sources and eyewitnesses.
The Civil Defense in Gaza announced Wednesday evening that the number of Palestinian martyrs had risen to 33 as a result of the Israeli airstrike on a restaurant in the Al-Rimal neighborhood in western Gaza City, while more than 80 were injured.
Civil Defense spokesman Mahmoud Basal said in a press statement that "Civil Defense crews, paramedics, and citizen volunteers transported at least 33 martyrs and more than 80 wounded, about half of them children and some women, as a result of an Israeli airstrike."
He pointed out that "the restaurant was crowded with citizens, some of whom were receiving meals as aid, and the area was crowded with passers-by, vendors, and small stall owners."
The Government Media Office in the Gaza Strip announced that the Palestinian death toll had risen to 102 martyrs and 193 wounded as a result of the ongoing Israeli bombardment over the past 24 hours.
The office stated in a statement on Wednesday that these individuals were martyred in a series of massacres perpetrated by the occupation forces in the central and northern areas of the Gaza Strip, which are densely populated with civilians, as part of the genocide they have been perpetrating in the Strip for 19 months.
He said the largest number of casualties occurred in direct Israeli shelling targeting Abu Hamisa School in the Bureij refugee camp and the Manasra camp for displaced persons in the city of Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip on Tuesday, where dozens of Palestinian families had sought refuge to escape the ongoing bombardment.
Israeli airstrikes also targeted Al-Karama School and a crowded restaurant in Gaza City on Wednesday, resulting in a large number of casualties, including women and children, according to a statement from the office.
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"brutal massacre"
In this context, Hamas on Wednesday condemned the "brutal massacre" committed by Israel when it bombed a crowded restaurant west of Gaza City, killing 22 Palestinians. The movement stated that the occupation army deliberately targets civilian gatherings to inflict the greatest number of casualties.
"A new brutal massacre has been committed by the terrorist occupation army after it bombed a large gathering of citizens in a restaurant in the center of Gaza City, killing and wounding dozens of people, including women and children," it added in a statement.
She continued, "The occupation army continues its barbaric aggression against Gaza, deliberately targeting civilian gatherings, from shelters and displacement centers to food distribution points, as part of a systematic war of extermination aimed at inflicting the greatest number of casualties among defenseless civilians and breaking the will of our people through killing, starvation, and siege."
The movement called for urgent international action to deter the Israeli government, which "persists in committing war crimes and ethnic cleansing against innocent civilians, amidst disturbing international silence."
"crime against humanity"
In a related development, Amnesty International said in a statement that any Israeli move to expand military operations against the Gaza Strip and displace Palestinian civilians there would constitute "war crimes and crimes against humanity."
The organization stated that Israel "is committing acts of genocide, fully aware of the irreversible harm it is causing to Palestinians in Gaza."
She warned that any move by Israel to displace Palestinians to the southern Gaza Strip, confining them to so-called "closed bubbles," or continuing to impose inhumane living conditions that force Palestinians to leave the Strip would amount to "the war crime of unlawful transfer or deportation."
Addressing Tel Aviv, she added: "If these acts were committed as part of a widespread or systematic attack directed against the civilian population, they would also constitute crimes against humanity."
On Sunday, Israel announced the start of a new escalation phase in its war of extermination and displacement against the Gaza Strip, dubbed Operation "Gideon's Wagons."
The Israeli occupation army said on Monday that the new phase of its aggression will include a large-scale attack and the forced displacement of Palestinians to other areas, under the pretext of "protecting them."
In the same context, Erika Guevara-Rosas, Amnesty International's Research, Policy, and Campaigns Officer, accused Israel of "using the release of the hostages as a pretext to justify further crimes and violations against Palestinians, and its continued genocide in the Gaza Strip," according to the same statement.
She considered Israel's use of the blockade of the Gaza Strip—by preventing the entry of essential humanitarian aid, including food, medicine, and fuel—as a weapon of war and collective punishment "illegitimate."
She explained: "After two months of a comprehensive blockade on Gaza, Israel's declared intentions to expand its already devastating military offensive, entrench its illegal occupation of the Gaza Strip, and forcibly displace Palestinians could be a fatal blow that will lead to the destruction of the Palestinians."
Since March 2, Israel has closed the Gaza Strip's crossings to the entry of food, relief, medical aid, and goods, causing a significant deterioration in the humanitarian situation for Palestinians, according to government, human rights, and international reports.
Israel's new plans in Gaza indicate that the authorities "plan a terrifying escalation by seizing land, establishing a permanent physical presence there, and displacing the majority of the population indefinitely," according to the same statement.
Rosas considered Israel's expansionist plans in Gaza to demonstrate "an absolute disregard for international law and contempt for Palestinian rights," noting that nearly 70% of the Gaza Strip is now subject to evacuation orders or restricted areas.
