Recent weeks have also seen an increase in the number of gun exchanges between Israel and Hezbollah, a potent militant organization supported by Iran, across the Lebanese border, sparking worries of a bigger conflict.
Speaking on Friday, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned that a disaster “beyond imagination” might be precipitated by the cross-border fighting and warned that Lebanon must not become “another Gaza.”
His warning coincided with an increase in Israeli strikes in the Gaza Strip, where at least 30 deaths were reported by one hospital in Gaza City.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) reported that following bombardment with “heavy calibre projectiles” close to its Gaza office, which was surrounded by displaced people living in tents, 22 bodies and 45 wounded individuals were transported to a Red Cross field hospital farther south.
The ICRC stated on social networking site X that “firing so dangerously close to humanitarian structures puts the lives of civilians and humanitarians at risk.”
In the Hamas-controlled area, the health ministry said that Israel was too responsible for the bombardment, citing 25 casualties and 50 injuries in the Al-Mawasi neighborhood next to the ICRC headquarters, which is not far from Rafah.
A representative for the Israeli Defense Forces stated that the incident was “under review” but did not recognize any involvement.
The health ministry of the territory cited the director of Gaza City’s Al-Ahli hospital as saying that 30 people had died in strikes in the northern part of the Strip.
“In Gaza City, today has been hard and challenging. About thirty martyrs have arrived at the Al-Ahli Arab Hospital thus far, according to a quote from physician Fadel Naeem.
Five municipal employees perished when a public garage was bombed, according to Mahmud Basal, a spokesman for the civil defense organization.
Operations “north and south of the Central Gaza Strip Corridor” were reported by the Israeli military on Friday. The flare-up of hostilities along the border with Lebanon matched the activities in and around Gaza.
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Hezbollah, an ally of Hamas based in Lebanon, claimed responsibility for firing dozens of rockets into a northern Israeli barracks on Thursday in retribution for a fatal airstrike in south Lebanon.
Israel alleged that the strike claimed the life of a Hezbollah operative.
In addition, Hezbollah reported several strikes against Israeli forces and positions close to the border on Friday, two of which involved the use of drones. According to the Israeli army, it launched many retaliatory strikes on both days.
According to an army statement, Israeli jets attacked three locations in southern Lebanon on Friday: a Hezbollah military installation near Meiss El Jabal, a Hezbollah military facility near Khiam, and Hezbollah terrorist infrastructure near Taybeh and Tallouseh.
Israel’s ally the United States has appealed for de-escalation.