The Israeli occupation forces conducted extensive air raids on the Gaza Strip amid retaliation from the Palestinian Resistance. The shelling from the Palestinian side comes as part of Operation Al-Aqsa Flood and the Israeli occupation's bombardment of residential buildings.

The Israeli occupation's indiscriminate shelling has led to numerous casualties among civilians, with reports revealing that nearly 313 Palestinians, including 20 children, were killed in the Israeli aggression. 1,990 Palestinians were also reportedly wounded, according to a statement from the Gaza Health Ministry.

The Palestinian Health Ministry said its medical crews were working non-stop in order to rescue all those wounded and in need of urgent care, stressing that they are working at full capacity and have initiated code red.

Meanwhile, Israeli occupation forces continue to target residential buildings, infrastructure, and facilities, as well as Resistance sites in the Gaza Strip.

Media reports have stated that Israeli occupation warplanes targeted a government headquarters in the center of Gaza City, completely destroying it. Additionally, they targeted a house belonging to the Shaaban family near the Bahalul Station in the Sheikh Radwan neighborhood. Another house, which belongs to the al-Yaqoubi family in the al-Karama area northwest of Gaza, was also bombarded.
 
Al Mayadeen's correspondent reported that a new series of Israeli airstrikes targeted the Gaza Strip, especially the western area, since the early hours of dawn.

In the past hours, Al-Qassam Brigades struck the illegal Israeli settlement of "Ashkelon" with 100 rockets in response to the Israeli army's targeting of residential homes.

The IOF announced that more than 3,000 rockets have been launched from the Gaza Strip in the past few hours. Concurrently, Israeli media reports revealed that the shelling in "Ashkelon" resulted in 6 casualties, including one in critical condition.
 
Al Mayadeen's correspondent reported that the Israeli occupation forces destroyed al-Watan tower in Gaza and demolished the 11-story Aklouk Tower in al-Nasr neighborhood in Gaza.

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Footage shows the Israeli occupation demolishing the 11-story Aklouk Tower in al-Nasr neighborhood in #Gaza.#Palestine#طوفان_الأقصى#OperationAlAqsaFlood pic.twitter.com/HtNOCxYtzx

— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) October 8, 2023

What you need to know 

On Saturday, Mohammad Deif, Commander-in-Chief of al-Qassam Brigades, announced the launching of Operation Al-Aqsa Flood following a barrage of rockets fired and an infiltration operation into Gaza Envelope settlements.

The leader said the operation comes in response to the Israeli occupation's desecration of al-Aqsa Mosque and multiple assaults against women in its yards. 

Al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of the Hamas movement, issued a military statement regarding the operation.

Later in the day, Israeli occupation Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said "Israel is at war" after Hamas fighters initiated a large-scale surprise attack on settlements in the Gaza envelope. 

In a filmed statement published several hours after the Palestinian Resistance launched Operation Al-Aqsa Flood, Netanyahu confirmed that he convened the heads of the Israeli security establishment and directed that Palestinian Resistance fighters who crossed into Gaza envelope settlements be "neutralized".

Towns and cities quickly fell into complete control of the Resistance units as Israeli occupation military and police forces collapsed within the first hour of the attack.

The Resistance's operation comes in the context of continued and unchecked Israeli aggression against Palestinians in the West Bank and occupied al-Quds, as well as a suffocating siege on the Gaza Strip.

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