The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) reported on Thursday evening that sirens were sounding in southern Israel following a hostile aircraft infiltration. The military did not provide immediate details about the type of aircraft involved or the group responsible, but the incident has raised fresh tensions in an already volatile region.

The alert came against the backdrop of Israel’s intensified bombardment of the Gaza Strip, where at least 22 Palestinians, including two young children, were killed on Thursday, according to medical sources. This adds to the 72 deaths recorded over the previous 24 hours, bringing the toll of Israel’s latest round-the-clock strikes to nearly 100.

Earlier, The Times of Israel, citing Israeli military figures, reported that a total of 200,000 Palestinians have already been forced out of Gaza City in recent weeks. Rights group Amnesty International described the operation on Wednesday as “unlawful and inhumane.”

In an Israeli attack early on Thursday, two Palestinians were killed — including an infant — and several others injured after tents sheltering displaced people were hit near Yarmouk Street in Gaza City. Another child was killed after Israeli forces opened fire in the Bureij camp in central Gaza, a source at al-Awda Hospital told Al Jazeera.

Medical sources from al-Awda and al-Mahmoudiyah hospitals also reported several deaths and injuries following Israeli shelling of the Shujayea district east of Gaza City.

Further south, four Palestinians waiting for aid were killed in two separate incidents in Rafah, while another person died in Israeli shelling northwest of Khan Younis.

The IDF has urged civilians in Gaza City to evacuate to southern areas of the enclave, but humanitarian groups warn that safe zones remain limited amid ongoing bombardments.

The situation remains highly fluid, with the infiltration incident and the mounting civilian death toll underscoring the escalating instability across the region.

Follow on Google News