North Gaza flattened, many fear South next

Displaced Palestinians settle along the roadside after arriving in Rafah. Pic/AP

Israeli forces bombarded cities, towns and refugee camps across Gaza overnight and into Thursday, killing dozens of people in an air and ground offensive against Hamas that has widened to most of the territory and forced thousands more to flee from homes and shelters.

The war has already killed over 20,000 Palestinians and driven around 85 per cent of the population of 2.3 million from their homes. Much of northern Gaza has been leveled, largely depopulated and isolated from the rest of the territory for weeks. Many fear a similar fate awaits the south.

An Israeli airstrike on a home in the northern town of Beit Lahiyeh - one of the first targets of the ground invasion that began in October - buried at least 21 people, including women and children, according to a family member. In central Gaza, Israeli warplanes and artillery pounded the built-up Bureij and Nuseirat refugee camps, leveling buildings, residents said.

A hospital in the nearby town of Deir al-Balah received the bodies of 25 people killed overnight, including five children and seven women, hospital records showed on Thursday. Non-stop explosions could be heard.

Protesters block airport access roads in US

Workers clear the debris left by the protesters. Pic/AP

Pro-Palestinian protesters briefly blocked entrance roads to airports in New York and Los Angeles on Wednesday, snarling traffic as US airlines contended with a rush of holiday travel. The demonstrations stopped cars on the outskirts of New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport, where some travelers set off on foot to bypass the jammed roadway, as well as Los Angeles International Airport. A total of 62 people were arrested during the two protests, police said.

Airstrikes kill two Aussies in Lebanon

Two Australian citizens including an alleged Hezbollah fighter were killed by an Israeli airstrike in Lebanon, Australia's acting foreign minister said on Thursday. Ibrahim Bazzi and his brother Ali Bazzi were killed in the airstrike on Tuesday in the town of Bint Jbel in southern Lebanon, minister Mark Dreyfus said.

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