At least six people have been killed in Israeli attacks in Gaza, amid a new evacuation order issued by Israeli forces in a Gaza City suburb.
On Sunday, Israeli attacks have so far killed one person in Nuseirat and two in Maghazi, both in central Gaza, as well as three people in Rafah, southern Gaza.
In northern Gaza, which has been besieged by Israeli forces since early October, the Gaza Health Ministry said Kamal Adwan Hospital had been attacked, injuring its director, Hussam Abu Safia.
In a video released by the ministry on Sunday, Abu Safia said the Israeli drone attack “would not prevent us from carrying out our humanitarian mission and we will continue to do this work at all costs.”
“We are targeted daily. They targeted me some time ago, but that won’t deter us,” he said from his hospital bed.
Gaza Civil Defense spokesman Mahmoud Basal told the AFP news agency that Abu Safia was injured in the back and left thigh by metal fragments, but was now in “stable” condition in hospital.
Kamal Adwan Hospital is one of three hospitals barely functioning in northern Gaza after Israeli forces arrested and expelled medical staff and prevented the arrival of emergency medical equipment.
Reporting from Deir el-Balah in central Gaza, Tel Aviv Tribune’s Hind Khoudary said the attack on Abu Safia was typical of Israeli attacks on Palestinians in intensive care units in northern Gaza, unable to receive medical help due to the blockade.
“In the northern Gaza Strip, there are no civil defense teams, no ambulances, no paramedics. It also adds more misery because even though you may be lucky enough to have someone help you rescue yourself, there is no team to help you or save your life,” Khoudary said.
In recent weeks, Israel has said it is facilitating the delivery of medical supplies and fuel to northern Gaza, but the amount of aid received remains below residents’ needs.
In Jabalia, Beit Lahiya and Beit Hanoon, towns in northern Gaza that are under heavy attack, residents told the Reuters news agency that Israeli forces had blown up hundreds of homes in the latest attacks.
Palestinians in Gaza say Israeli tactics appear aimed at completely depopulating the area and creating a buffer zone, a claim Israel denies.
Gaza’s health ministry said Sunday that at least 44,211 people were killed in Israeli attacks and 104,567 others were injured.
Forced displacement
Meanwhile, the Israeli army issued evacuation orders on Sunday in the suburb of Shejaia, east of Gaza City.
“For your safety, you must immediately evacuate to the south,” army spokesperson Avichay Adraee wrote on X.
Adraee’s speech came after Hamas claimed responsibility for a volley of rockets on Saturday that it said was aimed at an Israeli army base across the border.
Images on social media showed Palestinians leaving Shejaia on donkey carts and rickshaws heading towards southern Gaza.
Since the start of the war 13 months ago, Israel has issued several evacuation orders, each time forcing Palestinians to leave places previously designated as “safe zones.”
These orders have been criticized as amounting to the forced displacement of Palestinians.