Israeli Navy strikes central areas, over 200 raids on Gaza overnight

The Israeli Navy struck central areas of the Gaza Strip along the Mediterranean coast and residential areas of the city of Khan Yunis on Monday. Dozens of rockets were fired from Israeli attack boats towards the coastal areas of the city, the Palestinian state-run WAFA news agency reported. The Israeli army also said it had carried out more than 200 raids on Gaza overnight, claiming it struck military installations of the Palestinian Hamas group. In a statement released on X, the Israeli army said its warplanes and navy vessels struck military installations of the Hamas group, including a weapons storage site. It claimed weapons were stored in a mosque. It also said the army struck an apartment used as a storage for anti-tank guided missiles and a high-rise tower used by the Hamas group among other targets. Meanwhile, the Interior Ministry in Gaza said in a statement that all Israeli raids targeted civilians and residential areas. The Gaza-based media office on Monday said that the Israeli army committed 17 massacres against Palestinian families during their raids on Gaza. The Palestinian Hamas group launched Operation Al-Aqsa Flood against Israel early Saturday, firing a barrage of rockets and infiltrating Israel by land, air and sea. It said the surprise attack was in response to the storming of Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied East Jerusalem and increased settler violence against Palestinians. In retaliation, the Israeli military launched Operation Swords of Iron against Hamas in the Gaza Strip. The number of Palestinians killed by Israeli forces in Gaza has risen to 704, including 143 children and 105 women, the Gaza-based Health Ministry said early Tuesday. It said the number of wounded has risen to around 4,000. At least 900 Israelis have been killed and over 2,600 others wounded in the fighting, according to the Israeli Health Ministry.