Israeli strikes on southern Gaza kill 51, says Hamas-run health ministry

Israeli air strikes and a ground operation targeting the Khan Younis area in southern Gaza have killed at least 51 people, according to Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry.

Tanks reportedly advanced into some parts of the southern city and the surrounding area on Tuesday night, with residents reporting gunfire and heavy shelling.

One wounded villager who made it to hospital told the BBC “tanks stormed in” to his village without warning.

Separately, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it had hit Hamas targets located in two schools in central and northern Gaza overnight.

The IDF said the strikes were aimed at Hamas members operating “inside compounds that previously served as schools”. Palestinian media reported at least nine civilians were killed at one school.

Israel’s continued strikes into Gaza came just hours after it repelled a barrage of missiles from Iran and launched a ground invasion into Lebanon on the same day. It has described Tuesday's advance into Lebanon as a “limited” operation, targeting Hezbollah sites.

The IDF is yet to comment on the strikes in southern Gaza, which reportedly occurred at dawn on Wednesday.

But one man from Qizan an-Najjar village, south-east of Khan Younis, told BBC Arabic some of his relatives had been killed in the attack.

"Tanks stormed into the area, accompanied by quadcopters that directly targeted us," he said, speaking from Nasser Hospital where medical officials also gave updates on the death toll.

Another man at the hospital said: "We were in Qizan An-Najjar when suddenly, shells began to rain down on us from planes and tanks."

A third man told BBC Arabic: "There was no prior warning. Following the rocket fire from Lebanon, we witnessed complete destruction. I barely survived; my daughter is injured, and my wife has a head injury that may lead to vision loss."

He said Israeli forces had also "completely destroyed" a house where displaced families had been sheltering.

The health ministry on Wednesday warned the death toll could rise, with another 82 people injured in the strikes.

Hamas gunmen attacked Israel on 7 October last year, killing about 1,200 people and taking 251 others as hostages.

Israel responded with a military campaign in Gaza that has now killed a total of 41,689 people, according to the health ministry.

Khan Younis - Gaza’s second-largest urban area - has been directly targeted by the IDF several times before, including two major ground operations in August and July 2024.

It was also bombed heavily in the first months of the war in December 2023.