Israel launches ‘heaviest 24 hours of bombing since conflict began, killing 400’

Israel’s military has launched the ‘heaviest 24 hours’ of bombing since the Israel-Hamas conflict began two weeks ago, with media sources in Gaza saying 400 Palestinians were killed in the strikes. 

Israel bombarded residential areas in Gaza including the densely populated Jabalia refugee camp and locations close to Gaza’s Al-Shifa and Al-Quds hospitals.

Israel also intensified raids in the occupied West Bank overnight, with two Palestinians killed during a raid on Nablus.

Israel’s Rear Admiral Hagari confirmed on Sunday night that one soldier was killed and three others wounded during the failed bid to rescue hostages in the Khan Younis area of Gaza. 

The raid was launched as part of efforts to rescue the more than 200 hostages abducted in the October 7 Hamas attack, which also saw more than 1,400 people killed in Israel by gunmen from the terrorist group.

A report from Gazan news sources said that more than 400 people had been killed in Israeli air strikes in the last 24 hours, which Palestinian media described as the ‘heaviest bombardment’ since the October 7 Hamas attack

Gaza’s Health Ministry said 266 Palestinians, including 117 children, had been killed by Israeli air strikes in the past 24 hours in the enclave, to which Israel laid ‘total siege’ after the deadly mass infiltration into Israel by Hamas gunmen. 

Health authorities in Gaza say at least 4,600 people have been killed in total, with over a million of the densely populated enclave’s 2.3 million people displaced.

Earlier, Hamas said it had fought with Israeli forces near Khan Younis in southern Gaza, destroying a tank and two bulldozers in the battle.

The IDF later confirmed the death of the soldier and injuries to three more, saying the casualties were caused by an anti-tank missile.

‘An IDF (Israel Defense Forces) soldier was killed, one was moderately injured, and two were lightly injured as a result of an anti-tank missile launched toward an IDF tank and an engineering vehicle,’ the military said.