Israeli airstrikes and artillery fire struck multiple areas of the Gaza Strip early Friday, marking a significant escalation in Tel Aviv's military campaign aimed at demolishing residential buildings and neighborhoods.
Eyewitnesses told Anadolu Agency (AA) that heavy shelling targeted Beit Lahia, a nearby housing project, the Jabalia refugee camp, and the Jabalia Nazlah area.
The Israeli army intensified its demolition efforts, bombarding the Jabalia refugee camp and Beit Lahia with explosives, destroying homes and entire residential blocks.
Massive blasts echoed across northern Gaza, according to locals, who said the frequency and scale of the attacks have increased, now occurring around the clock using various methods.
Israel has been conducting a large-scale ground operation in northern Gaza since Oct. 5, allegedly to prevent the Palestinian resistance group Hamas from regrouping. Palestinians, however, accuse Israel of seeking to occupy the area and forcibly displace its residents.
In central Gaza, Israeli artillery shelled areas northwest and east of the Nuseirat refugee camp and north of the Bureij refugee camp.
In the south, the towns of Abasan, east of Khan Younis, and Rafah City also came under heavy bombardment.
On Tuesday, the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor condemned Israel’s expansion of city-eradication activities, calling them a tool for "committing genocide” in Gaza. The organization verified video evidence and images showing widespread destruction in northern Gaza and Rafah City.
Israel launched a genocidal war on Gaza that has killed more than 45,100 people, mostly women and children, since a cross-border attack by the Palestinian group Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023.
The International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants last month for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) over its war on Gaza.
