Palestinian medics reported that an Israeli airstrike near the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis killed seven people late Monday, bringing the total number of Israeli strikes since Sunday night to at least 37.
Israeli forces earlier Monday sent tanks from the west into the Nuseirat camp in central Gaza, as advancing tanks opened fire, causing residents and displaced families to panic.
Health officials at Al-Awda Hospital in Nuseirat said that air and ground attacks killed 20 people overnight and into Monday in Nuseirat, one of the eight historic refugee sites in the Gaza Strip, including some in a tent encampment.
Zaik Mohammed, a resident, claimed that the tank incursion took people by surprise.
Mohammad, 25, who resides one kilometre (half mile) from the targeted area, told Reuters via a chat app, “Some people couldn’t leave and remained trapped inside their homes, appealing to be allowed out, while others rushed out with whatever they could carry as they fled.”
Regarding Monday’s violence, Israel made no comments.
Israel claims that its operations in the north and centre of the enclave are part of a campaign to prevent Hamas militants from reorganising and carrying out attacks as the war in Gaza enters its fourteenth month.
The evacuation of tens of thousands of Palestinians has stoked concerns that they might never be permitted to return.
The already remote prospects of a ceasefire were further diminished over the weekend when mediator Qatar announced it was halting its efforts until Israel and the Palestinian organisation Hamas demonstrated a greater willingness to negotiate.
Israeli forces have been operating in Gaza City and the northern town of Beit Lahiya since October 5; both towns were hit by Israeli airstrikes, according to medical personnel.
Medical personnel at Kamal Adwan Hospital near Beit Lahiya reported that three of their colleagues were injured by Israeli drone fire.
The Israeli military reported that it killed Mohammad Abu Skhail, a Hamas ally and senior commander of the Islamic Jihad group, in a strike on Saturday at a command centre located inside a compound that was once a school in Gaza City. The attack killed six people, according to Palestinian medics.
SEGE IN HOSPITAL
In spite of the lack of food, medical supplies, and fuel, hospital officials have refused orders to evacuate the facilities or leave their patients unattended as Israeli forces have been besieging the three hospitals in and around Jabalia in northern Gaza for several weeks.
The militant group denies the Israeli military’s accusation that it uses Gaza’s civilian population for its own military ends.
More than a month ago, the Israeli military deployed tanks into the northern Gazan camps of Jabalia, Beit Lahiya, and Beit Hanoun. It claimed that since the raids started, it had killed hundreds of militants in Jabalia and the surrounding area.
In recent weeks, Hamas and Islamic Jihad’s armed wings claimed that their fighters killed numerous Israeli soldiers through ambushes, mortar fire, and anti-tank rocket attacks.
Israel’s military announced Monday that it had extended a humanitarian zone within the enclave. More tents, shelter supplies, food, water, and medical equipment would be able to enter, it added.
It stated that its forces “will continue to work to achieve the war’s objectives, including dismantling Hamas and returning all the abductees,” which are Israeli hostages.
According to Palestinian and UN officials, the enclave, which is now mostly in ruins and is home to over 2.1 million people, has no safe places.
Israel estimates that Hamas gunmen killed about 1,200 people and took 253 hostages when they attacked Israeli communities on October 7, 2023, sparking the start of the war. Health officials in Gaza report that Israel’s military campaign has killed about 43,500 Palestinians and levelled a large portion of Gaza.
