Israeli forces expanded their raid into northern Gaza, forcing many families to flee their homes. Their tanks even reached the northern edge of Gaza City, according to residents of the Sheikh Radwan neighbourhood.
Medical personnel reported that an Israeli airstrike struck some tents housing displaced Palestinians inside Al-Aqsa Hospital in the central Gaza Strip city of Deir Al-Balah, where a million people were seeking shelter early on Monday morning, resulting in three Palestinian deaths and forty injuries.
Viral social media footage showed multiple tents burning while some Palestinians made fruitless attempts to put out the flames. Reuters was unable to independently confirm the footage.
The Israeli military claimed to have hit militants operating out of a command center within the compound, accusing Hamas—which it disputes—of utilizing public spaces like hospitals for military objectives.
Locals claimed that Israeli forces had effectively cut off access to Beit Hanoun, Jabalia, and Beit Lahiya, which are located far north of the enclave, from Gaza City. Families can only leave the three towns if they comply with the evacuation orders.
Nine days into a major Israeli operation, the Gaza government media office, under Hamas control, reported that Israeli strikes in northern Gaza had killed approximately 300 Palestinians. Israel disputes the claim that Israel’s bombardment of civilian homes and shelters for displaced people aimed to force people to permanently leave Gaza.
According to medical reports, Israeli tank shelling later on Sunday killed at least 22 Palestinians at a school in the Nuseirat camp in the central Gaza Strip that was housing displaced families.
At least fifteen women and children were among those slain in the school, according to the government media office in Gaza, which is run by Hamas. It also stated that eighty more people had injuries.
An Israeli airstrike in Gaza City’s Shati refugee camp killed five children just hours prior. An Israeli drone fired a missile while the kids were playing near a cafe, killing them, according to the Hamas media and the official Palestinian news agency WAFA.
On the two reports, the Israeli military refrained from commenting right away.
Speaking on social media platform X, acting UN relief chief Joyce Msuya wrote, “What’s happening in northern Gaza is terrifying beyond words.”
“Israeli forces are becoming more aggressive. Hospital patients must evacuate. Supplies that are essential are running low. People experienced starvation, lost access to aid, and had to relocate. The woman stated that the crimes must cease.
Citing UN reports that food has not entered northern Gaza in almost two weeks, US Vice President Kamala Harris stated on X that “Israel must urgently do more to facilitate the flow of aid to those in need.”
“People need to be safe and have access to supplies of food, water, and medical care. “We need to uphold international humanitarian law,” declared Harris, the Democratic Party’s presidential candidate for next month.
Israel is attacking other parts of the Gaza Strip in addition to the north, where the main assault is taking place. On Sunday, the health ministry announced that at least 34 people had died thus far.
On social media, a large number of Jabalia locals shared the message, “We will not leave, we die, and we don’t leave.”
After militants attacked Israeli towns on October 7, killing 1,200 people and taking 250 hostages, Israel launched its first phase of its attack on Gaza a year ago, bombing the northern part of the territory, which is home to well over half of the 2.3 million people living there.
Thousands of Palestinians have returned to the devastated northern areas following a year of Israeli attacks that claimed 42,000 lives. Over a week ago, Israel dispatched troops to eliminate fighters they believed were reorganizing for additional assaults. Hamas disputes that fighters interact with civilians.
The intensification in northern Gaza has been accompanied by a massive Israeli airstrike and ground operation against Hezbollah, an Iranian ally similar to Hamas, on a separate front in southern Lebanon.
“Israel is wiping out Jabalia as the world is focused on Lebanon and a possible Israeli strike against Iran,” stated Nasser, a resident of the northern Gaza Strip’s Beit Lahiya.
“The occupation is demolishing residential areas and blowing up roads. Additionally, he told Reuters through a chat app that people are stranded inside their houses without access to food and are afraid that bombs will fall on their heads.
In the midst of the Israel-Hamas conflict, a displaced Palestinian boy sits on a cart as he and others travel out of the northern Gaza Strip in response to an Israeli evacuation order in Gaza City on October 12, 2024. Dawoud Abu Alkas of REUTERS
The Israeli military said in a statement on Sunday that during the previous 24 hours, its forces had attacked about 40 targets and killed dozens of militants throughout the Gaza Strip.
“The forces of Division 162 continue to operate in the Jabalia region; on the last day, they killed dozens of terrorists and found explosives, weapons, grenades, and other means of warfare in the region,” said the statement.
The Islamic Jihad, the armed wings of Hamas, and smaller groups claimed that their fighters used mortar fire and anti-tank rockets to attack Israeli forces in Jabalia and surrounding areas.
According to UN and Palestinian officials, there are no safe zones in Gaza. In addition, they have expressed alarm about the acute lack of food, fuel, and medical supplies in northern Gaza and the potential for famine.
