Cairo:
Israeli tank shells hit people queuing for food in northern Gaza on Monday, killing at least 10 people and injuring 40, Palestinian doctors said, prompting Israel to evict all residents from the north. Fear grew within the enclave that there were plans to do so.
Medics said Israeli drones also opened fire on Jabalia, one of Gaza's eight historic refugee camps, where dozens of residents had gathered to receive food. Ta. The victims reportedly included women and children.
The Israeli military said it was investigating the incident.
Jabalia has been the focus of an Israeli offensive for about 10 days, with the military currently besieging the camp and sending tanks into the nearby towns of Beit Rahiya and Beit Hanoun, where they hope to root out Hamas fighters attempting to regroup. declares that.
The past few days have resembled the early stages of the war, with Israeli forces calling on Palestinians to evacuate south and Hamas telling them not to leave as it is too dangerous as they ramp up pressure on Hamas.
Northern Gaza, home to 2.3 million people, well over half of the Gaza Strip, was heavily bombed during the first phase of Israel's offensive against the strip, which began a year ago.
Hundreds of thousands of northern Gaza residents fled their homes in the early months of the war due to Israeli evacuation orders and ground attacks on the area, but about 400,000 remained, according to U.N. estimates.
But months after heavy ground fighting there, Israel returned troops to Jabalia to root out Hamas fighters, which it said were regrouping for further attacks.
Hamas and Islamic Jihad militant groups said their fighters were carrying out attacks against Israeli forces with anti-tank rockets and mortar shells.
There was no respite for residents.
“We were hit non-stop for a week from the air and from the ground. They told us to leave and they want to punish us because we refused to leave the house.” With my family said Marwa, 26, who went to the hospital. Schools in Gaza City.
She said people were worried that if they headed south they would never be able to return.
Hamas said late Monday that Israel aims to forcefully expel the people of northern Gaza through constant shelling and cutting off aid, food and fuel.
“The international community must act against this war crime as the occupation forces close off territory and prevent aid and medical supplies from entering the country,” Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri told Reuters. spoke.
“In doing so, it causes a slow death. This is in addition to the direct killings that are carried out every day,” Abu Zuri said.
Concerned about Israel's plan to airlift Jabalia
Some residents also believe that Israel has emptied Jabalia, and possibly all of northern Gaza, based on a proposal by former Israeli generals to remove civilians from northern Gaza and place remaining militants under siege until they surrender. I am concerned that he is planning to do so.
Israel categorically denies such a design.
“We have not received any such plans,” military spokesman Nadav Shoshani told reporters. “We are ensuring that civilians are rescued from danger while carrying out operations against terrorist groups in Jabalia,” he said.
Giora Eiland, the proposal's lead author, said the proposal's plan would force Hamas to release hostages by ceasing territorial control and aid, rather than sending in Israeli troops to fight the fighters. He said the aim was to put pressure on people to do so.
“What they're doing now in Jabalia is pretty much the same,” Eiland told Army Radio on Sunday. “My plan is not being carried out.”
Israel's plans for Gaza's future are unclear beyond its stated goal of dismantling Hamas as a military and governing force.
The United Nations has described dire conditions affecting civilians remaining in Jabalia.
“More than 50,000 people have been evacuated from the cut-off Jabalia region, some stranded in their homes due to shelling and increased fighting,” UN humanitarian coordinator Muhanad Hadi said on Sunday.
“Recent military operations in northern Gaza have forced the closure of wells, bakeries, medical sites and shelters, as well as the suspension of protection services, malnutrition treatment and temporary learning spaces. At the same time, We are also seeing an influx of cases into hospitals due to trauma. ”
The Israeli military had no immediate comment.
Israel launched its offensive against Hamas following an October 7 attack in the Gaza Strip that killed 1,200 people and took about 250 hostages, according to an Israeli tally. More than 42,000 Palestinians have been killed in the attacks so far, according to Gaza health officials.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
