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Israeli Forces Advance in South Gaza as Death Toll Rises, More People Are Displaced

Palestinians inspect the damage following an Israeli strike on the Khadija school housing displaced people in Deir al-Balah, in the central Gaza Strip on July 27, 2024. (Photo by Eyad BABA / AFP)
Palestinians inspect the damage following an Israeli strike on the Khadija school housing displaced people in Deir al-Balah, in the central Gaza Strip on July 27, 2024. (Photo by Eyad BABA / AFP)
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Israeli Forces Advance in South Gaza as Death Toll Rises, More People Are Displaced

Palestinians inspect the damage following an Israeli strike on the Khadija school housing displaced people in Deir al-Balah, in the central Gaza Strip on July 27, 2024. (Photo by Eyad BABA / AFP)
Palestinians inspect the damage following an Israeli strike on the Khadija school housing displaced people in Deir al-Balah, in the central Gaza Strip on July 27, 2024. (Photo by Eyad BABA / AFP)

Israeli forces sent tanks deeper into areas in the Gaza Strip's south on Sunday as fighting with Hamas-led militants raged, and Gaza health officials said Israeli military strikes had killed 66 Palestinians across the enclave in the past 24 hours.

Tanks pushed deeper into the three towns of Al-Karara, Al-Zanna, and Bani Suhaila, in the east of Khan Younis in southern Gaza, and medics said at least nine Palestinians were killed earlier on Sunday by Israeli military strikes in those areas.

Residents said fierce fighting could be heard in eastern areas of Khan Younis where the army was operating. The new incursions caused thousands more families to leave their homes and head to overcrowded areas in Al-Mawasi to the west, and north to Deir Al-Balah.

Over the past few days, Israel's military said the raid in eastern Khan Younis was in response to renewed attacks, including rocket firing, from those areas and to prevent Hamas from regrouping. It said forces killed dozens of militants in the area and destroyed military infrastructure.

Meanwhile, in Rafah, near the border with Egypt, Israeli forces advanced deeper into the northern parts of the city, where they have yet to take full control.

Tanks also shelled some areas in the central Gaza Strip including Bureij camp, Nuseirat camp and the Juhr El-Deek village.

At least 39,324 Palestinians have been killed and 90,830 others injured in Israel's military offensive on the Gaza Strip since Oct. 7, a statement from Gaza's health ministry said on Sunday.

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Libyan Court Jails 12 Officials over Deadly Floods

Abdul Salam Ibrahim Al-Qadi, 43 years old, walks on the rubble in front of his house, searching for his missing father and brother after the deadly floods in Derna, Libya, September 28, 2023. REUTERS/Esam Omran Al-Fetori/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
Abdul Salam Ibrahim Al-Qadi, 43 years old, walks on the rubble in front of his house, searching for his missing father and brother after the deadly floods in Derna, Libya, September 28, 2023. REUTERS/Esam Omran Al-Fetori/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
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Libyan Court Jails 12 Officials over Deadly Floods

Abdul Salam Ibrahim Al-Qadi, 43 years old, walks on the rubble in front of his house, searching for his missing father and brother after the deadly floods in Derna, Libya, September 28, 2023. REUTERS/Esam Omran Al-Fetori/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
Abdul Salam Ibrahim Al-Qadi, 43 years old, walks on the rubble in front of his house, searching for his missing father and brother after the deadly floods in Derna, Libya, September 28, 2023. REUTERS/Esam Omran Al-Fetori/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights

A Libyan court has jailed 12 officials in connection with the collapse of a series of dams in Derna last year that killed thousands of the city's residents, the Attorney General said on Sunday.

The officials, who were responsible for managing the country's dams, were sentenced to between 9 and 27 years in prison by the Court of Appeal in Derna. Four officials were acquitted, according to Reuters.

Derna, a coastal city with a population of 125,000, was devastated last September by massive floods caused by Storm Daniel.

Thousands were killed and thousands more were missing as a result of the floods that burst dams, swept away buildings and destroyed entire neighbourhoods.

The Attorney General in Tripoli said three of the defendants were ordered to "return money obtained from illicit gains", according to a statement, which did not give the names or positions of those on trial.

"The convicted officials have been charged with negligence, premeditated murder and waste of public money," a judicial source in Derna told Reuters by phone, adding that they had the right to appeal against the verdicts.

A report in January by the World Bank, United Nations and European Union said deadly flash flooding in Derna constituted a climate and environmental catastrophe that required $1.8 billion to fund reconstruction and recovery.

The report said the dams' collapse was partly due to their design, based on outdated hydrological information, and partly a result of poor maintenance and governance problems during more than a decade of conflict in Libya.