Israeli forces pounded several areas today in the Gaza Strip, killing at least 30 Palestinians, health officials said, as tanks pushed deeper into western and northern Rafah.

Journalist Mohammad Abu Jasser, his wife and two children were among those killed today in an Israeli strike on their home in the northern Gaza Strip, a medical source said.

The media office of the Hamas-led government said Abu Jasser’s death brings to 161 the number of Palestinian media workers killed by Israel since October 7.

Israeli army strikes in Gaza have killed 37 Palestinians in the past 24 hours and destroyed many homes. In the al-Nuseirat camp in the central Gaza Strip, an airstrike on a high-rise building injured several people, including two local journalists, rescuers said.

In Rafah, where Israel has said it intends to wipe out the last ranks of Hamas’ armed wing, residents said tanks were pushed deeper into northern areas of the city and took control of a hilltop to the west amid heavy gun battles. with Hamas-led militants.

The army said troops continued operations in Rafah, killing several gunmen during the previous day in the Tell al-Sultan area on the western side of the city. In central Gaza, the military reported raids on militant infrastructure.

The military also said it struck a structure used by Palestinian militants in Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip, saying gunmen were operating from a humanitarian area, and accused militants in Gaza of exploiting civilian infrastructure and the civilian population for military purposes, a charge which Hamas and other organizations have said is being falsely used to justify these attacks.

Efforts for a ceasefire deal led by Qatar and Egypt and backed by the United States have so far failed to bear fruit due to disagreements between the fighters who blame each other for the impasse.

Israel vowed to eliminate Hamas after its fighters killed 1,200 people and took at least 250 hostage in an attack on October 7, according to Israeli accounts. At least 38,919 Palestinians have been killed in the Israeli retaliatory attack since then, according to Gaza health authorities.

The day before yesterday, Thursday, the army said it had killed half the leadership of Hamas’ military wing and that it had killed or captured around 14,000 fighters since the start of the war.

Israel says 326 of its soldiers have been killed in Gaza.

Hamas does not release casualty figures and claims Israel is exaggerating its reports in order to give the impression of a “false victory”.