Eight Palestinians were killed and dozens others injured in the Israeli occupation attacks today, Monday in Gaza, while an Israeli minister announced the completion of preparations for establishing 3 settlements in the sector.
Sources in Gaza hospitals reported that Israeli airstrikes on the sector since this morning resulted in the death of 8 martyrs, including two girls, and more than 40 injuries, according to Al Jazeera.
A source at Nasser Hospital in Gaza reported the martyrdom of a mother and her daughter, and the injury of several displaced persons in an Israeli airstrike that targeted their tents in Mawasi Khan Yunis.
Eye witnesses explained that the Israeli shelling caused significant damage and losses to the tents and properties of the displaced, where the attack followed shortly after an Israeli drone bombed a tent of holiday-makers on the beach of the Mawasi area west of Khan Yunis, resulting in the martyrdom of two Palestinians and wounding 27 others.
Medical sources told Anadolu Agency that the injured, whose wounds ranged from minor to moderate, were transferred to Nasser complex and to the Kuwaiti and Mawasi field hospitals in Khan Yunis.
Earlier, a Palestinian was martyred and a girl was injured due to the Israeli army firing on a gathering of civilians near the Bani Suhaila roundabout east of Khan Yunis.
In the morning, three Palestinians, including a child, were martyred and others were injured in a drone strike that targeted a gathering of civilians on Al-Baraka street in Deir al-Balah in the middle of the sector.
In the northern part of the sector, a young man and a woman were injured with moderate wounds due to Israeli artillery shelling targeted the Slaiteen area in Beit Lahia town, according to a medical source.
Meanwhile, the Israeli occupation army demolished facilities and buildings northeast of Khan Yunis, while Palestinians reported hearing loud explosions resulting from the demolitions.
The demolitions coincided with heavy gunfire from Israeli vehicles stationed east of the city, along with artillery shelling, while a number of Israeli military vehicles breached Salah al-Din street near the electricity company's compound in al-Nuseirat camp, amid gunfire and artillery shelling.
According to eye witnesses, the Israeli vehicles moved the concrete cubes that symbolize the "Yellow Line" about 150 meters westward, from around the electricity company southwards towards the Wadi Gaza bridge northwards.
They added that residents were surprised on Monday morning to find new concrete cubes along Salah al-Din street in the area, indicating an expansion of Israeli control, in violation of the ceasefire agreement.
The Israeli army is positioned along the "Yellow Line," a security strip inside the Gaza Strip that prevents Palestinians from accessing areas near it, while it controls more than 70 percent of the sector's area.
According to data from the Gaza Health Ministry, Israeli breaches since the ceasefire began have resulted in the martyrdom of 1,045 Palestinians and injuries to 3,380, mostly children and women.
Since October 8, 2023, more than 73,000 Palestinians have been martyred and more than 173,000 have been injured, in addition to widespread destruction that affected 90 percent of the civilian infrastructure.
Settlement endeavours in Gaza
Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich also revealed the completion of what he called preparations for establishing 3 settlements in the Gaza Strip, pending approval from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, calling for the completion of the occupation of the sector.
Smotrich, in statements following a meeting with the mayor of Sderot (south) Alon Davidi, according to Israeli Channels 12 and 7, said, "The Settlement Administration that I chair in the Ministry of Defense has completed the preparatory work, and we are ready to establish 3 settlements immediately, as soon as we get the green light from the Prime Minister."
Smotrich, who leads the far-right "Religious Zionism" party, called on Netanyahu to grant approval to complete the mission and achieve real security for the southern residents, in his words.
He mentioned that the Israeli army currently controls about 70 percent of the Gaza Strip area, calling for the completion of the occupation of the rest of the sector.
He added: "We must resolve the battle against Hamas, and establish a belt of Jewish settlements to be a security belt protecting Sderot and the settlements around Gaza."
Smotrich's statements come amid escalating calls from leaders of the far-right in Israel to resettle the Gaza Strip, nearly two decades after Israel withdrew from its settlements in 2005 as part of the "Disengagement Plan."
Earlier on Monday, the Israeli Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology, Ghila Gamliel, said she had presented to the government a plan regarding the displacement of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip with support from the foreign intelligence service "Mossad."
She promised to expand the area of occupation in Gaza, noting that Gaza could become a good opportunity for settlement in the future, once what she called "voluntary migration" is accomplished, referring to the displacement of Gazans.
