Israeli forces have killed 91 Palestinians in Gaza in a single day, according to medics, including family members of a prominent doctor and four people on board a truck fleeing northern Gaza City.
The killings on Saturday came as Israeli forces continue to press on with their relentless air and ground assault to seize Gaza City, the largest urban centre in the enclave, and force its population into concentration zones in the south.
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Israeli forces bombed residential homes, schools-turned-shelters, tents housing displaced people and a truck carrying people trying to flee Gaza City on the military’s orders.
At least 76 people were killed in the attacks.
Early on Saturday, the family home of Dr Mohammed Abu Salmiya, the director of the largest hospital in Gaza City, al-Shifa, was hit, killing at least five people.
The victims included Abu Salmiya’s brother, his sister-in-law and the couple’s children.
“I was shocked and devastated to see the bodies of my brother and his wife,” Abu Salmiya, who was working in the hospital’s emergency department, told the AFP news agency. “Anything is possible now, as you receive your dearest ones as martyrs or wounded.”
Hamas condemned the attack, calling it a “bloody terrorist message directed at doctors to force them to leave the city”.
It noted that Israeli forces had killed some 1,700 health workers and imprisoned 400 others since launching the war on Gaza in October 2023.
Fleeing Palestinians hit
Another Israeli strike hit a group of Palestinians on board a truck trying to flee Gaza City, killing at least four people and leaving bloodied bodies scattered on the street.
The attack took place in the city’s Nasr area.
Al Jazeera’s Hind Khoudary, reporting from az-Zawayda in central Gaza, said the victims of the attack were among thousands fleeing nonstop Israeli bombardment, artillery shelling and quadcopter fire.
“Israeli forces have also been using explosives-laden robots that are wiping out all entire areas and causing endless damage,” she said. “Some residents say it feels like an earthquake every time they explode.”
Khoudary added that rescuers and medics were unable to reach trapped or wounded Palestinians “because the situation is very dangerous”.
According to the Palestinian Civil Defence in Gaza, the Israeli assault on the city, which began in August, has forced more than 450,000 people to flee. At the beginning of the offensive, there were about a million people in the area.
The Israeli military, meanwhile, estimates that it has demolished up to 20 tower blocks over the past two weeks in Gaza City.
The Palestinians who have fled, however, are struggling to find shelter.
Khoudary called the scenes “heartbreaking”.
“We’re seeing some tents on the sides of the streets. People have literally pitched their tents in places where there’s no water, electricity or infrastructure,” she said.
“That’s because Palestinians do not have any other option.”
Protests in Israel
Michail Fotiadis from the medical charity Doctors Without Borders, known by its French initials MSF, said the conditions in southern al-Mawasi, where Israeli forces have ordered people to go, are extremely dire.
“Everybody is looking for a place to pitch a tent, but the materials are not available. The situation is really dire for the population. I saw tents by the sea, in places that are only sand,” he told Al Jazeera by phone.
“So, access to water is very difficult. So is access to health facilities and hygiene, which can have very adverse health consequences,” he added.
Hamas claims the 48 captives who are remaining in Gaza are scattered throughout the neighbourhoods of Gaza City, and has warned that the ongoing offensive could endanger those still alive.
Its armed wing, the Qassam Brigades, released a compilation photo of the captives on Saturday, describing it as a “farewell picture”.
In Israel, thousands of people rallied in Tel Aviv, demanding an immediate end to the war on Gaza, and calling on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to reach a deal with Hamas and secure the release of the remaining captives.
They also urged United States President Donald Trump to put pressure on the Israeli government to reach an agreement.
Al Jazeera’s Hamdah Salhut, reporting from Amman in Jordan, said there was no sign that these protests have had any sway on the Israeli government.
“In fact, members of Netanyahu’s right-wing coalition have slammed these demonstrations, saying they are not only counterproductive, but also serve Israel’s enemies,” she said.
“Family members of the captives in Gaza say the continued Israeli military action in Gaza and the expansion of it could be a death sentence for their loved ones. Week after week, we see these demonstrations, and we see them escalating. Some of these protests even reached Netanyahu’s home in West Jerusalem, trying to send the message that ‘enough is enough’,” she added.
