Palestinians bury civilians killed by Israeli army in mass grave

Palestinians buried dozens of civilians Saturday who were killed by the Israeli army in recent days in the northern Gaza Strip after Israeli vehicles withdrew from areas, Anadolu Agency reports.

Witnesses told Anadolu that Palestinians in Jabalia dug a mass grave and buried dozens of civilians killed in the area of ​​Tel al-Zaatar and the vicinity of the Indonesian Hospital.

They said the bodies, some being women and children, were collected after Israeli military vehicles withdrew from the area early Saturday.

The bodies were found scattered on roads after they were killed with shells, drones, and live ammunition, witnesses said.​​​​​​​

The decomposed bodies on the roads were described as “tragic,” where dogs and cats nibbled on parts of the dead.

Israeli military vehicles withdrew from Tel al-Zaatar, while fierce clashes continued against Palestinian resistance fighters on the western outskirts of the Jabalia Al-Balad area, in an attempt to penetrate the region’s depth.

Since an Oct. 7 attack by the Palestinian resistance group, Hamas, Israel has pounded the Gaza Strip, killing at least 20,258 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and injuring 53,688, according to health authorities in the enclave.

The Israeli onslaught has left Gaza in ruins with half of the coastal territory’s housing stock damaged or destroyed, and nearly 2 million people displaced within the densely-populated enclave amid shortages of food and clean water.

READ: Death, destruction in Gaza ‘unprecedented and unbearable’ to witness: UN Mideast envoy