Gaza, January 31 (QNA) - At least 16 Palestinians were martyred and dozens injured in a series of airstrikes and shelling carried out by Israeli occupation forces on Gaza City on Saturday.

Medical sources said that around 13 Palestinians, including civilians as well as officers and members of the Palestinian police, were martyred when Israeli occupation strikes hit Sheikh Radwan police station in the northwestern part of Gaza City.

Sources at Al-Shifa Hospital reported that 13 bodies and several wounded were brought to the hospital following the strike, while search efforts continue for people believed to be trapped under the rubble of the targeted building.

The Palestinian General Directorate of Police confirmed in a statement that several police officers and personnel were martyred in the attack on the police headquarters.

It noted that ambulance and rescue teams evacuated the dead and wounded after Israeli aircraft struck Sheikh Radwan police station, resulting in the killing of police officers and personnel, in addition to civilians who happened to be inside the facility at the time of the attack.

Spokesperson for the Gaza Civil Defense, Mahmoud Bassal, told Qatar News Agency (QNA) that rescue crews recovered several bodies from beneath the rubble and were continuing to search for others.

He said Israeli occupation forces used high-explosive missiles, causing widespread destruction at the site, adding that most of those martyred in today's Israeli strikes on the Gaza Strip were children.

Bassal also said that firefighting, rescue, and ambulance crews have responded since dawn to seven distress calls following Israeli occupation attacks on displacement shelters, tents for displaced people, residential apartments and a police facility.

Separately, three civilians were martyred and others injured in an Israeli occupation strike that targeted a house near Al-Suwaidi Clinic in Al-Nasr neighborhood west of Gaza City, while Israeli occupation warplanes carried out several other airstrikes on different areas across the Strip.

Hospital sources in Gaza said the number of Palestinians martyred by Israeli occupation bombardment since dawn and brought to hospitals has risen to 29, including victims in both the northern and southern parts of the Strip.

Israeli occupation forces have continued their bombardment since early morning, launching multiple airstrikes targeting tents for displaced people, homes, government facilities and camps.

Earlier on Saturday, Gaza's Ministry of Health announced that the death toll from the ongoing Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip has risen to 71,769 killed and 171,483 injured since October 7, 2023. (QNA)