The Israeli “972+” magazine website confirmed in a report that Beit Lahia, north of the Gaza Strip, is experiencing catastrophic humanitarian conditions as a result of the ongoing Israeli attacks, and its streets have turned into piles of rubble and dead bodies, while its remaining residents face a great challenge to survive amid the siege. Stifling and widespread destruction.
The report quoted Ali Hamouda (43 years old), a resident of Beit Lahia, as saying, “Wherever you go, you find bodies on the ground, some of them semi-decomposed, and others run over by Israeli armor. We are surrounded from all directions, and people do not know where to go.”
He added that those who remain alive in Beit Lahia suffer from hunger and thirst, as there is no food or water, and described what is happening as “genocide of the population and displaced people who have taken refuge here.”
Disastrous situation
The magazine reported a statement by Mahmoud Basal, spokesman for the Civil Defense in Gaza, in which he indicated that the situation in northern Gaza, specifically in Beit Lahia, is “extremely catastrophic,” adding that Israel is bombing residential buildings with highly destructive missiles without warning and in light of the presence of residents inside them.
She said that he and his crew were working in very difficult conditions due to the Israeli targeting of rescue teams and in the absence of equipment and extracting victims from under the rubble using primitive methods.
The writer stated that the Israeli army prevents the entry of any food or medical supplies after separating the cities of northern Gaza from the rest of the cities of the Strip. Ali Hamouda says: “My family and I now drink unclean water and eat what remains of the cans of legumes.”
But despite the harsh conditions and the constant Israeli warnings to evacuate and head south to Gaza City, Hamouda and his family insist on staying, stressing that “there is no safe place in Gaza. All residents are at risk of bombing and killing at any moment.”
Shocking testimonies
The website explains that Shukri Al-Wadi (51 years old), a resident of the Al-Shaima neighborhood in Beit Lahia, described the situation in the city as “the catastrophe of the 21st century,” explaining that “the city’s landmarks have disappeared and it has become a pile of rubble.” My family and I move from one place to another to escape the intense bombing.”
He stated that the occupation is demolishing entire residential areas, and people are trapped inside their homes without finding anything to eat, and they feel the desire for shells to fall on them at any moment, and reconnaissance drones “routinely fly over us at low altitudes, and quad-copter drones fire on civilians to force them to leave the city.
As for Nermin Labad (31 years old), she fled Beit Lahia on foot with her four children on November 17, and walked for 3 hours until she reached the Sheikh Radwan neighborhood in Gaza City. She said: “We made this trip with shells flying over our heads, because we did not find anything to eat or drink, and the situation was getting more dangerous day by day.”
The writer quoted Nermin as saying: “As I was leaving the city, I saw many corpses on the ground, and dogs were mauling some of them. I also saw wounded men and women alive, drowning in their blood, and no one was helping them. We are dying slowly. How long will this killing and destruction continue?” ?
All this is happening, at a time when an Israeli army spokesman stated that the operations in northern Gaza comply with international law, saying that any allegations of indiscriminate targeting are “completely unfounded,” the magazine explains.
He also claimed that the army was “facilitating the entry of humanitarian aid” into northern Gaza, and allowing “safer evacuations” by working on a “temporary ceasefire.”