War on Gaza: Deadliest morning in weeks amid fresh Israeli assault
The past day has seen a series of fresh Israeli assaults on Gaza, as the world's focus turns to Lebanon and the Iranian missile attack on Israel.
At least 79 Palestinians were killed in the Gaza Strip on Wednesday morning, according to medical sources, making it one of the deadliest mornings in the besieged enclave in weeks.
The Palestinian health ministry has said that the death toll of Palestinians since the start of Israel's offensive on 7 October has risen to 41,689, with more than 96,625 wounded and at least 10,000 missing who are presumed dead.
Those killed include at least 16,800 children, 11,400 women, around 1,000 health workers, 174 journalists and 220 UN workers.
On Wednesday morning, Israeli strikes on an orphanage and a school-turned-shelter in Gaza City killed at least 25 people, including children, according to Palestinian media.
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The attacks targeted the Mascat school in the Tuffah district and al-Amal orphanage in the Rimal neighbourhood.
Besides those attacks, over the past day at least 25 people have been killed in central Gaza and 25 in the north, according to hospitals that received the bodies.
On Tuesday evening, Israeli forces began heavy aerial and artillery shelling of eastern Khan Younis neighbourhoods, before carrying out a limited incursion that lasted into the early hours of Wednesday.
At least 30 Palestinians were killed in the attack.
On Wednesday morning, Israeli fighter jets targeted the family home of journalist Ahmed al-Zard in southeastern Khan Younis, according to Wafa news agency.
The strike resulted in the deaths of Zard's brother, uncle, and two cousins. Zard himself, along with his mother and another brother, was seriously injured and is currently being treated in hospital.
Reports indicate that several people remain trapped under the rubble of the demolished home, and Wafa added that Israeli forces initially fired on those approaching the site, including ambulance crews, preventing them from assisting the wounded.
On Tuesday evening, Israeli forces also bombed a school in the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza, killing at least 10 people, including children.
The attack coincided with intense shelling across the Nuseirat refugee camp, which is south of the Israeli-occupied Netzarim corridor, after displaced Palestinians reportedly attempted to cross back into northern Gaza from the south.
The Palestinian health ministry said two Israeli air strikes on two houses in Nuseirat on Tuesday killed at least 13 people, including women and children.
It also said that on Tuesday evening, two additional Israeli attacks killed five Palestinians in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip and in the Zeitoun suburb of Gaza City.
'Perpetual state of instability'
A new report by ActionAid released on Wednesday said that "Palestinian women have been disproportionately affected by the war in Gaza, experiencing extreme levels of stress, anxiety, and trauma.
"Constant displacement has placed women in a perpetual state of instability, with one 16-year-old girl stating, 'We don't know where to go to find security.'"
The report describes the "dire state" of maternal healthcare in Gaza, as pregnant women face high-risk births with little medical support.
Dr Adnan Radi at Al-Awda hospital in Gaza reported a "sharp increase in the rate of [high-risk] pregnancies, complications [relating to] premature birth, an increase in miscarriages and problems such as infections, sepsis, bleeding, and others."
The fresh Israeli attacks on Gaza happened as Iran fired around 180 missiles at areas across Israel in less than an hour on Tuesday, with sirens sounding almost in every city.
Eyewitnesses reported hearing explosions and footage showed direct hits on army bases in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, the Negev and other areas.
On Wednesday morning, Hezbollah then claimed a series of attacks on Israeli troops stationed along the boundary with Lebanon. The attacks included clashing with troops who attempted to "infiltrate" the Lebanese town of Odaisseh, forcing them to retreat.
The Lebanese group said it targeted three different military positions along the boundary with rockets and artillery fire, achieving "direct hits".
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