"Over the past 24 hours, the air force struck approximately 120 targets across the Gaza Strip," the army said in a statement on Wednesday, claiming that the raids targeted "armed cells, military buildings, combat tunnels, booby-trapped buildings, and enemy infrastructure."
However, Gaza residents confirm that Israeli airstrikes mostly target civilian homes, shelters for displaced persons, and residential areas on the streets, resulting in the deaths of dozens of Palestinians daily, most of them children and women.
The Israeli occupation army continues its ground aggression with five military divisions deployed across various areas of the Gaza Strip, amidst the tragic humanitarian conditions facing the population as a result of the ongoing bombardment, mass displacement, and shortages of food, water, and medical care.
The Israeli army said in a statement: "Forces from the 98th Division are deepening their operations in Gaza City, north of the Strip, and forces from the 162nd and 99th Divisions are continuing to fight in the north of the Strip." It added: "Forces from the 143rd Gaza Division are also continuing their operations in the south of the Strip."
On Tuesday, the army said in a statement that "the 36th Division continues its ground operations in the southern Gaza Strip." The division comprises several brigades, meaning each division comprises thousands of soldiers.
Meanwhile, recent satellite images show widespread destruction in the city of Khan Yunis, south of the Gaza Strip, as a result of military operations.
The Hebrew newspaper Haaretz reported on Wednesday that recent satellite images reveal that the army "almost completely destroyed Khan Yunis, the second-largest city in the Gaza Strip, and its suburbs, within an area spanning approximately 90 square kilometers and containing thousands of homes."
The newspaper reported that the most extensive destruction occurred in the towns of Bani Suhaila and Abasan al-Kabira, where most buildings were completely destroyed. The town of Khuza'a was also completely destroyed at the start of the war.
She reported that the demolition operations relied heavily on bulldozers and heavy equipment, and that the army employed private contractors who made profits amounting to thousands of shekels for each building demolished.
Since the ceasefire ended in March and the launch of Operation Gideon's Chariots in May, areas east of Khan Yunis have witnessed unprecedented destruction, and evacuation orders have been issued for civilians displaced to the west of the city, particularly the Mawasi area.
According to testimonies from local residents quoted by Haaretz, the destruction was not only carried out by airstrikes, but also extensively by bulldozers, amid daily bombings throughout the city.
Hebrew University geospatial data expert Adi Ben Nun said that approximately 2,200 buildings have been destroyed in central Khan Yunis since last May, representing 7.6% of the city's total buildings, while the percentage of destruction or major damage has risen to 74% of the urban infrastructure there.
"This isn't just fighting, it's total destruction," said one displaced Palestinian. "Nothing is left. No one could have imagined such cruelty. Everything has simply disappeared, destroyed." According to the newspaper, "Across the Gaza Strip, an estimated 70 percent of buildings have been completely destroyed or damaged to the point of being uninhabitable."
She added: "This is in addition to the destruction of the vast majority of public buildings, roads, and infrastructure," and "the United Nations estimates the total amount of rubble in Gaza at about 50 million tons, and expects its removal to take at least 21 years," according to the newspaper.
Since October 7, 2023, Israel has been waging a war of genocide in Gaza, including killing, starvation, destruction, and forced displacement, ignoring all international calls and orders from the International Court of Justice to halt it.
The US-backed genocide left more than 201,000 Palestinians dead or wounded, most of them children and women, and more than 9,000 missing, in addition to hundreds of thousands of displaced persons and a famine that claimed the lives of many.
For decades, Israel has occupied Palestine and territories in Syria and Lebanon, and refuses to withdraw from these territories and establish an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital, along the pre-1967 borders.
