Israel has killed at least 640 Palestinians in northern Gaza since it besieged the area 17 days ago, including 33 since dawn on Monday, medical sources told Tel Aviv Tribune.
“The genocide is taking place in northern Gaza in its clearest form, in full view of the world,” the Palestinian Authority Foreign Ministry warned in a statement on Sunday.
“The occupying army is forcing residents of northern Gaza to either flee under bombardment or risk being killed in what seems like a circle of certain death,” he said, adding that The failure of the international community to end this “war of extermination has encouraged Israel to continue its murderous campaign”.
Reporting from Deir el-Balah in central Gaza, Tel Aviv Tribune’s Tarez Abu Azzoum said civilians in northern Gaza are “trapped” in their homes amid a “massive power outage” .
“Food, water and medicines are running out,” he added. Although Israeli airstrikes have hit several areas of Gaza, the concentration of its military attacks remains in the north, particularly in the Jabalia refugee camp, Abu Azzoum said.
Meanwhile, Palestinian women forced to flee northern Gaza said the Israeli army was separating and arresting dozens of men at checkpoints.
Abu Azzoum said rescuers found the bodies of five Palestinians killed in the southern town of Rafah. At least 18 other people were killed and several injured in an Israeli bombardment in Jabalia, medical sources told Tel Aviv Tribune. Two Palestinians were also killed in the As-Saftawi area, northwest of Gaza City.
From Al-Ahli hospital in Gaza City, where Palestinian victims from the north arrive after a series of attacks, Ibrahim al-Khalili described “an unimaginable situation” with funerals organized in the early hours.
“People filling water containers were targeted and killed. In Beit Lahiya, a school shelter was also attacked, leaving several people dead and dozens injured,” al-Khalili said.
In a statement, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights said Israeli forces demolished a block of houses in Jabalia on Monday, while also hitting at least three UNRWA schools.
Israel “may be behind the destruction of the Palestinian population in Gaza’s northernmost governorate through death and displacement” amid continued bombardment of the besieged enclave, the body said of the United Nations.
Israel’s brutal attack on the Gaza Strip has killed more than 42,600 people, mostly women and children, and injured 99,800 others since October last year – although the figures are likely much higher with thousands of victims buried under the rubble.
Although Israel claimed to have defeated Hamas in northern Gaza and Jabalia in early January this year, it launched a new offensive there, which the UN and Palestinian rights groups now fear an attempt to empty the territory of its Palestinian residents.
Aid workers and health authorities in Gaza say most aid has not reached northern Gaza due to intense Israeli bombardment.
Sam Rose, director of planning at the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees, said Gaza residents “are facing absolutely unimaginable conditions.”
They went through “12 months of war, repeated displacement, bombings, loss of life, loss of property, deprivation and lack of food and water,” he told Tel Aviv Tribune from Khan Younis, in southern Gaza.
“What we have seen over the last two weeks has taken the situation to another level in terms of the intensity of bombings and military operations,” Rose said.
“It is very difficult to get a clear picture of what is happening because of the closure and the way the area is strangled, but every report we receive suggests that the situation there for the approximately 175,000 people who remain is more than catastrophic. »
Tel Aviv Tribune’s Hind Khoudary, reporting from Deir el-Balah, said Israeli forces were “invading homes and evicting residents by force.” “People are screaming for help,” she said.
“(They) feel ignored despite their efforts to share their experiences online. They record videos, but remain trapped. Without food, aid and support, they continue to suffer as relentless Israeli air attacks continue,” she added.
