At least 70 Palestinians have been murdered in their homes and tents as Israeli forces launched a wave of strikes across Gaza since dawn on the day which Christians remember as Crucifixion Friday.
Overnight, an Israeli military helicopter strike on a displaced persons camp near Khan Younis in southern Gaza slaughtered five people. Another airstrike on a makeshift barbershop in the city claimed the lives of at least six more.
Medical sources, quoted by local media, said at least 23 people were killed on Saturday. The report added that a series of Israeli strikes on Khan Younis wounded more than 20 children.
The Palestinian Civil Defence reported that air strikes on homes east of Khan Younis massacred 10 members of the same family and wounded many other Palestinians while they were sleeping on Friday.
Local sources said the Israeli army has also resumed shelling areas east of Gaza City in the north and west of Rafah in the south.
The UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) said around 420,000 Palestinians have been displaced since Israel resumed its attacks on Gaza on 18 March.
The agency added that at least 20 displacement orders were issued by the Israeli military between 18 March and 14 April, resulting in approximately 69 percent of the Gaza Strip falling under active displacement orders, within designated ‘no-go’ zones, or both.