Casualties Mount as Violence Escalates between Israel and Gaza
Israel’s military offensive in Gaza has resulted in the deaths of at least 37,431 people, mostly civilians, according to Gaza’s health ministry. The International Committee of the Red Cross reported that 22 people were killed in shelling that damaged its Gaza office on Friday, as the Israeli army intensified strikes in the besieged Palestinian territory. Exchanges of fire across the Lebanese border between Israel and the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah have also escalated in recent weeks, heightening fears of a broader conflict.
UN Chief Warns Against Lebanon Becoming “Another Gaza” Amid Escalating Israel-Hamas Conflict
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres cautioned on Friday against the cross-border hostilities turning Lebanon into “another Gaza,” emphasizing the risk of triggering a catastrophe “beyond imagination.” His statement coincided with an intensification of Israeli strikes in the Gaza Strip, where one hospital in Gaza City reported at least 30 dead.
In a separate incident further south, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) reported that 22 bodies and 45 wounded individuals were brought to a Red Cross field hospital following shelling with “heavy-caliber projectiles” near its Gaza office. The office was surrounded by displaced individuals living in tents.
The health ministry in the Hamas-run territory blamed the shelling on Israel, saying there were 25 killed and 50 wounded in the Al-Mawasi area near the ICRC office, not far from Rafah.
An Israeli Defense Force spokesman did not acknowledge any role in the incident but said it was “under review”.
‘A difficult and brutal day’
In the north of the Strip, the director of Gaza City’s Al-Ahli hospital was quoted by the territory’s health ministry as reporting 30 dead in strikes.
“It has been a difficult and brutal day in Gaza City. So far, around 30 martyrs have arrived at the Al-Ahli Arab Hospital,” doctor Fadel Naeem was quoted as saying.
