Humanitarian conditions in province deteriorate under siege
The Israeli army has committed massacres in North Gaza province during a widescale assault, the Palestinian Civil Defense said late Tuesday.
“The humanitarian situation in the northern province is becoming increasingly dangerous by the hour as the occupation continues its assault on Beit Hanoun, Beit Lahia and Jabalia for the fourth consecutive day, enforcing a strict siege that prevents the entry of water, food and medicine,” the agency said in a statement.
“The occupation has committed massacres against civilians, resulting in dozens of martyrs and hundreds of injured,” it added.
It said the bodies of the victims remained in the streets as rescue teams could not reach them due to the Israeli army's targeting of ambulances and civil defense crews.
The statement also noted that the Israeli military “threatened over 200,000 residents in the areas and neighborhoods of North Gaza with eviction, committing massacres to force civilians to flee.”
The Gaza Health Ministry said earlier that the Israeli army demanded that patients and staff be evacuated at Kamal Adwan Hospital, the Indonesian Hospital and Al-Awda Hospital.
The Israeli army threatened the hospitals with “destruction, killing and arrest” if they did not evacuate, similar to what happened at Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, which has been besieged for weeks at a time since last November, the ministry added.
The Israeli army announced Sunday the beginning of a military operation in Jabalia, claiming it was to “prevent Hamas from regaining strength in the area,” following hours of fierce attacks on the eastern and western areas of northern Gaza in the most intense fighting since May.
Witnesses reported that Israeli military vehicles had reached areas in northwestern Gaza.
Earlier Tuesday, the Israeli army warned Palestinians to evacuate their homes in Jabalia town and its camp and head south through a “safe corridor,” while the Gaza Interior Ministry cautioned residents about complying because it is “deception and lies.”
On Monday, the army began forcibly displacing Palestinians from three towns in northern Gaza in what appeared to be the unofficial implementation of the “Generals' Plan” aimed at clearing northern Gaza and imposing a full siege, potentially paving the way for settlement expansion.
Israel has continued a brutal offensive on Gaza following an attack by the Palestinian group Hamas on Oct. 7 last year, despite a UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate cease-fire.
Nearly 42,000 people have since been killed, mostly women and children, and around 97,600 injured, according to local health authorities.
The onslaught has displaced almost the entire population of the territory amid an ongoing blockade that has led to severe shortages of food, clean water and medicine.
Israel faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its actions in Gaza.
