Gaza civil defence agency says 30 killed in Israeli strikes in Jabalia on Friday

Gaza's civil defence agency Friday said at least 30 people have been killed by Israeli strikes throughout the day in northern Gaza's Jabalia town and refugee camp amid intense combat operations by the Israeli army in the area.

The agency's spokesman Mahmud Bassal said that a strike that occurred before 9:40 pm local time (1840 GMT) had left "12 dead, including women and children" in the town. Bassal said that 14 people were still missing and likely trapped under the rubble.

Before that incident, Ahmad al-Kahlut -- director of the agency in northern Gaza -- said 18 people had been killed by several strikes, including hits on "eight schools" in the camp that were serving as shelters for displaced people.

In total, the day's strikes left at least 110 injured, according to figures provided by Bassal and Kahlut. The Israeli military did not respond to AFP's questions about the strikes on schools in Jabalia camp.

Last weekend, the Israeli army announced it had surrounded the Jabalia area and issued evacuation orders, as analysts suggested Hamas was regrouping there, despite a year of continuous strikes and intense fighting.

Huge portions of Gaza have been destroyed since Israel launched its retaliatory military assault on the Palestinian territory in the wake of the Hamas attack on Israel that sparked the war on 7 October, 2023.

Israel has bombarded the Palestinian territory by land, air and sea as it seeks to destroy the Iran-backed militant group, displacing almost all of its civilian population of 2.4 million people at least once in the past year.