At least 92 martyred in Israeli strikes across Gaza since dawn
Israeli bombardment on Gaza killed at least 92 people Saturday, hitting homes, shelters, and aid sites in Gaza City, Nuseirat, and Khan Younis.
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Smoke rises to the sky following an Israeli strike in the northern Gaza Strip, as seen from southern occupied Palestine, Saturday, September 20, 2025 (AP)
At least 92 people were killed on Saturday as the Israeli occupation launched heavy bombardments across the Gaza Strip, targeting residential areas and shelters for displaced civilians, according to local authorities.
In northern Gaza City, occupation forces detonated an armored vehicle packed with explosives to destroy homes along al-Nafaq Street, while tanks fired shells and heavy machine-gun rounds in the surrounding area. Artillery also struck the city’s northwestern districts, and air raids hit Sheikh Radwan neighborhood, with smoke bombs dropped near the al-Mashtal Hotel.
Israeli quadcopter drones reportedly dropped grenades on Abu Assi School in al-Shati refugee camp, where displaced families had taken shelter. One person was killed and several others were wounded. Two more people were killed when a house belonging to the Hassan family near al-Firouz Towers was hit.
Fourteen people, including four children and five women, were killed in an airstrike on a residential block belonging to the Daghmash family in the Sabra area, south of Gaza City. Rescue teams said several others remained trapped under rubble amid major difficulties accessing the site.
Strikes across central and southern Gaza
Israeli artillery also targeted homes in al-Zaytoun and al-Shujaiya east of Gaza City, while warplanes destroyed two residential buildings near al-Shujaiya junction. Several people were injured in an airstrike near the Jordanian Hospital in Tel al-Hawa.
In the al-Shati camp, four people were killed and others were injured when Israeli artillery hit the Hamid intersection. Another strike from an Israeli drone killed one person and injured others in the al-Sahaba area of the al-Daraj neighborhood.
Four more people were killed when a tent sheltering displaced families near Yarmouk Stadium on al-Wahda Street was hit. In western Nuseirat, three people were killed and four wounded when a tent shelter for displaced families near the archaeological site was struck.
Further south, Israeli shelling targeted aid security personnel in Batn al-Samin, south of Khan Younis, with tanks and smoke grenades reported in the area. A woman was shot dead near Hamad City, north of Khan Younis, while three people were killed in another strike on central Khan Younis.
Gaza residents exhausted amid relentless attacks
AFP on Saturday reported that the director of Gaza's largest hospital, already struggling to cope with the carnage of "Israel's" ongoing assault, was struck by personal loss when the bodies of his brother and sister-in-law arrived at the emergency ward.
Mohammed Abu Salmiya, who leads Al-Shifa hospital, said he was working as waves of martyrs from Israeli bombardments were being brought in when he realized two of the dead were his own family. "I was shocked and devastated to see the bodies of my brother and his wife," he said. "Anything is possible now, as you receive your dearest ones as martyrs or wounded. The occupation's crimes continue, and the number of martyrs keeps rising."
Hospitals across the besieged enclave remain flooded with bodies. Al-Shifa reported receiving 34 corpses, while the Baptist hospital took in 28. An AFP journalist witnessed ambulances pulling into the Al-Shifa compound, unloading the dead and injured, including children. Four bodies wrapped in white cloth were placed beneath a tree as more victims arrived.
"Israel's" military dismissed questions about the rising civilian death toll but insisted it was expanding its operation, claiming that "troops dismantled numerous terror infrastructure sites."
Forced displacement under fire
"Israel's" bombardment of Gaza City forms part of a broader campaign that international bodies and human rights organizations describe as a systematic effort to erase Palestinian communities. Entire neighborhoods are being reduced to rubble, echoing the destruction of Beit Hanoun and Rafah.
"Death is more merciful," said 38-year-old Mohammed Nassar from Tal al-Hawa, who explained he cannot afford to evacuate his wife and three daughters. "As for me, my wife and my three daughters, we will wait until the last moment. The occupation wants to forcibly displace everyone so it can destroy Gaza City and turn it into another Beit Hanoun or Rafah -- unlivable for the next 100 years."
The Gaza civil defence agency estimates that 450,000 people have already fled the city, while "Israel" claims 480,000 have left. Yet with the United Nations reporting about one million residents in Gaza City and its environs, hundreds of thousands remain trapped, too poor or too exhausted to flee.