The number of Palestinians killed in the massacre committed by Israeli occupation forces east of Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, has risen to 29, Al Mayadeen's correspondent confirmed on Wednesday, with the number likely to rise.

On Tuesday evening, Israeli occupation forces bombed al-Awda school in Aabasan in Khan Younis, which shelters thousands of displaced civilians.

According to its latest figures, the Ministry of Health in Gaza announced that more than 53 Palestinians were injured, including serious and critical cases, as a result of the latest Israeli massacre.

Our correspondent said that the Israeli occupation is committing more massacres in Rafah amid the collapse of the healthcare system in the Gaza Strip.

He highlighted that more than 70% of Gaza City is subjected to relentless aerial and ground bombardment.

Elsewhere, he noted that signs of famine were worsening, leaving the people in Gaza with nothing to eat but the remaining leaves on the trees.

Aabasan massacre sign of Israeli defeat: Hamas

Hamas said the massacre represents a continuation of the genocidal war and heinous massacres against the defenseless Palestinian people.

In a statement, the movement urged the people of the occupied West Bank to activate all means of support and assistance, to confront the Israeli occupation, and to boost participation in the Al-Aqsa Flood Battle.

It also called on the Arab and Islamic peoples and the free peoples of the world to renew their uprising (Intifada) in support of the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip and to immediately take to the streets with massive demonstrations and protests in all cities around the world.

Izzat al-Rishq, a member of Hamas' political bureau, said the Aabasan massacre is a "crime of genocide and deliberate ethnic cleansing."

He pointed out that the targeting of civilians and all aspects of civilian life by the Israeli occupation is a sign of its defeat, not a prelude to victory.

Al-Rishq underlined that the crime of bombing defenseless civilians, including women and children, cannot be justified.

The Hamas official stressed that, after more than nine months of floundering without achieving any victory, all the Israeli occupation achieves are massacres against civilians.

This comes as Israeli occupation forces continue bombarding different areas across the Gaza Strip.

Al Mayadeen's correspondent said that two Palestinians were killed and six others were injured in an Israeli strike that targeted a house in the town of Bani Suhaila, east of Khan Younis.

Our correspondent pointed to a number of injuries in an Israeli airstrike on a house in the al-Daraj neighborhood in central Gaza City, in addition to artillery shelling on al-Zaytoun neighborhood.

Gaza civil defense decries Israeli targeting of civilian sites

In a related context, the Directorate of Supply and Equipment at the General Directorate of Civil Defense in Gaza denounced the continued massacres carried out by Israeli occupation forces and the targeting of civilian sites and institutions designated as shelters, which puts at risk the lives of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians with US-made weapons.

In a statement issued on Tuesday, the directorate condemned the Israeli occupation's use of prohibited bombs in densely populated areas, amid an increasing humanitarian blockade, the halting of fuel supplies to civil defense teams, and the reduction of fuel to other humanitarian institutions.

The directorate also called on the United Nations Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) to allocate fuel for civil defense teams to continue providing services amid the intensifying airstrikes and bloodshed that exacerbate the humanitarian crises in the Gaza Strip.

It is noteworthy that the General Directorate of Civil Defense in Gaza announced that the number of its crews killed since the start of the Israeli aggression has risen to 76 martyrs.

PRCS unable to respond to distress calls due to Israeli bombardment

Similarly, the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) stated that its crews are unable to respond to dozens of distress calls in Gaza due to the intensity and danger of the Israeli bombardment.

Palestine Red Crescent: Operations room teams are receiving dozens of humanitarian distress calls from #Gaza City, but our ambulance teams are unable to reach them due to the danger of the targeted areas and the intensity of the bombardment. #IHL

— PRCS (@PalestineRCS) July 9, 2024

"Field reports from Gaza Governorate indicate that the situation for residents is extremely dire," the PRCS indicated on X, adding that "the occupation forces continue to target residential blocks and displace citizens from their homes and shelters."

The PRCS had earlier announced that all its "medical points and emergency clinics in the Gaza Governorate are out of service due to the Israeli occupation's forcible evacuation measures in various areas of the governorate where these medical points and clinics are located."

Read more: 'Israel' kills 33+ children through malnutrition, starves all of Gaza