An area in the Maghazi refugee camp hit by an Israeli airstrike
The Guardian reported on December 27 that the Israeli army has expanded its ground campaign against crowded refugee camps in the central Gaza Strip.
Residents in Gaza said they experienced a night of air strikes and shelling on the Nuseirat, Maghazi and Bureij refugee camps.
The camps house many Palestinian families who took refuge during the 1948 war, as well as those who fled northern Gaza during the early stages of Israel's ground offensive in October.
"We have expanded the fighting to an area called the central camps. We will continue to adjust our operations, methods and force composition according to operational needs," said Israeli army spokesman Daniel Hagari.
Israel accuses Hamas of hiding in crowded places such as hospitals and refugee camps and using civilians as human shields, a charge Hamas denies.
World Health Organization (WHO) emergency medical team coordinator Sean Casey said more than 100 people were brought to Al-Aqsa hospital in just 30 minutes on December 25, along with about 100 bodies.
All of the injured are in need of urgent treatment. A UN official said there were "an unknown number" of victims trapped under the rubble after the Israeli raid.
AFP news agency reported on December 27 that the French Foreign Ministry expressed deep concern after Israel announced that it would intensify and prolong the war against Hamas forces in Gaza. The French Foreign Ministry continued to call for a ceasefire, while condemning the bombing that has caused many civilians to become victims in recent days.
In another development, health sources in Gaza said Israel has returned the bodies of 80 Palestinians killed in Gaza, after sending them to Israel for inspection to ensure that there were no hostages among them.
The bodies were returned to Hamas for a mass burial in Gaza. About 250 hostages were taken to Gaza after Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, killing about 1,200 people. An estimated 129 hostages are still being held in Gaza. Israel's retaliatory attacks have killed more than 20,900 people and injured about 55,000.
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