Gaza Health Ministry: 70 Palestinians Killed by Israeli Fire in Khan Younis

Smoke rises following Israeli bombardments in Khan Younis, Gaza Strip, Monday, July 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
Smoke rises following Israeli bombardments in Khan Younis, Gaza Strip, Monday, July 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
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Gaza Health Ministry: 70 Palestinians Killed by Israeli Fire in Khan Younis

Smoke rises following Israeli bombardments in Khan Younis, Gaza Strip, Monday, July 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
Smoke rises following Israeli bombardments in Khan Younis, Gaza Strip, Monday, July 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Seventy Palestinians were killed and more than 200 wounded by Israeli fire on the city of Khan Younis in southern Gaza, Gaza's Health Ministry said on Monday.

It said some of the wounded were in a "dangerous condition.”

Another strike hit outside Al-Aqsa Hospital in the central town of Deir-Al-Balah, where many people were living in tents on the street, killing one person and wounding three.

The attacks came as the Israeli military ordered the evacuation of part of a crowded area in the Gaza Strip it had designated a humanitarian zone, saying it is planning an operation against Hamas militants there. The order triggered a new flight of Palestinians, many of whom had taken refuge there just in the past weeks.

The Health Ministry said the toll from Israel’s nine-month war against Hamas in Gaza has surpassed 39,000 Palestinians killed and 89,800 wounded.



Türkiye Continues Strikes on PKK in Iraq, Syria Despite Ocalan Call 

Syrian Kurds hold flags as they gather after Türkiye’s jailed militant leader Abdullah Ocalan called on his Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) to lay down its arms, in Hasakah, Syria February 27, 2025. (Reuters)
Syrian Kurds hold flags as they gather after Türkiye’s jailed militant leader Abdullah Ocalan called on his Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) to lay down its arms, in Hasakah, Syria February 27, 2025. (Reuters)
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Türkiye Continues Strikes on PKK in Iraq, Syria Despite Ocalan Call 

Syrian Kurds hold flags as they gather after Türkiye’s jailed militant leader Abdullah Ocalan called on his Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) to lay down its arms, in Hasakah, Syria February 27, 2025. (Reuters)
Syrian Kurds hold flags as they gather after Türkiye’s jailed militant leader Abdullah Ocalan called on his Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) to lay down its arms, in Hasakah, Syria February 27, 2025. (Reuters)

Türkiye’s armed forces have killed 26 Kurdish militants in Iraq and Syria in the week after jailed militant leader Abdullah Ocalan's disarmament call, the defense ministry said on Thursday.

Ocalan last week called on his outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) to lay down its arms and dissolve, and the militant group declared an immediate ceasefire on Saturday.

"The Turkish Armed Forces will continue its operations and search-scanning activities in the region for the survival and security of our country," the defense ministry spokesperson told a weekly press briefing.

"(It) will continue its fight against terrorism with determination and resolve until there is not a single terrorist left," the spokesperson added.

The spokesperson Zeki Akturk said the PKK militants had been "neutralized" in Iraq and Syria, without specifying where the incidents took place. The ministry's use of the term "neutralized" commonly means killed.

The PKK, designated a terrorist group by Türkiye and its Western allies, said it was ready to convene a congress, as Ocalan urged, but the necessary security conditions should be established for him to "personally direct and run" it.

The Syrian Kurdish YPG, the spearhead of the key US ally against ISIS in Syria that Ankara views as an extension of the PKK, has said Ocalan's message did not apply to them.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Saturday Türkiye would continue operations against the PKK if the group's process of disarmament is stalled or promises are not kept.

Erdogan's ruling AK Party spokesman Omer Celik said all Kurdish militants in Iraq and Syria, including the US-allied Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), must lay down their weapons.