Corpses lying in streets, families trapped in homes in Shejaiya neighborhood in Gaza amid Israeli intense bombing

The Palestinian Civil Defense said Friday that several dead Palestinians are lying in streets and familaies are trapped in homes in the Shejaiya neighborhood in eastern Gaza City that rescue teams cannot get to because of intense Israeli bombing.

"The Israeli army is targeting dozens of homes in Shejaiya, causing casualties among the people,” civil defense spokesman Mahmoud Basal told Anadolu.

He noted that there are families trapped in homes, who could not flee under the heavy Israeli bombardment.

"The situation in the Shejaiya neighborhood is very difficult and catastrophic, as the occupation advances amid ongoing bombing on the homes and public facilities," he said.

Basal also noted that tens of thousands of residents have fled Shejaiya, and did not find shelter because there are no adequate spaces in the already crowded shelters.

The Israeli army's incursion is met with fierce resistance from the Palestinian groups, according to statements Friday by the groups.

The army launched a ground offensive Thursday in the Shejaiya neighborhood, claiming to dismantle the military infrastructure of the Palestinian resistance group, Hamas.

The military operation forced thousands of civilians to flee in Shejaiya under heavy Israeli army shelling, resulting in casualties.

Flouting a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire, Israel has faced international condemnation amid its continued brutal offensive on Gaza since an Oct. 7 attack by Hamas.

More than 37,700 Palestinians have since been killed in Gaza, most of them women and children, and more than 86,500 others injured, according to local health authorities.

Over eight months into the Israeli war, vast tracts of Gaza lie in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water and medicine.

Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, whose latest ruling ordered Tel Aviv to immediately halt its operation in Rafah, where more than 1 million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war before it was invaded on May 6.