Gaza, 24 February 2024 (dpa/MIA) - Fierce fighting was continuing in major cities in the Gaza Strip, according to the Israeli army on Saturday. "Over the past day, several terrorists have been killed in air strikes and clashes on the ground," the military said.

The army reported intense fighting in Khan Younis, the largest city in the south of the coastal territory, and soldiers were said to have "killed numerous terrorists there with precise sniper fire" on Friday.

In al-Zeitoun, a neighbourhood of Gaza City, a group attempted to fire a rocket at Israeli soldiers, the military reported. An "aircraft targeted the terrorists and killed them," the army said. The information could not be independently verified.

According to Palestinian media, at least 24 people were killed in an Israeli airstrike on the town of Deir el-Balah in Gaza on Friday evening.

The Palestinian news agency Wafa, citing local sources, reported that numerous other people were injured and rescue teams were searching for people buried under the rubble. Israel's army did not initially comment on the incident.

The war was triggered by the worst massacre in Israel's history. On October 7 last year, militants from the Palestinian Islamist group  Hamas and other extremist organizations murdered more than 1,200 people in Israel and abducted 250 others.

The aim of the Israeli military offensive is to destroy Hamas and free the remaining hostages, of whom, the Israelis believe, around 100 are still alive.

According to the Hamas-controlled health authority, almost 30,000 people in the Gaza Strip have been killed and a further 70,000 injured during the Israeli military operation. The figures, which do not distinguish between civilians and fighters, cannot currently be verified.

Israel has been heavily criticized internationally for the scale of civilian casualties and destruction.

Photo: MIA archive