Israeli forces expanded their assault into northern Gaza, with tanks reaching the northern edge of Gaza City and attacking parts of the Sheikh Radwan district, forcing many families to flee their homes, residents said.
Early on Monday morning, an Israeli airstrike hit several tents of displaced Palestinians inside Al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir al-Bala in the central Gaza Strip, where one million people have taken refuge, killing three people. was killed and 40 injured. said the doctors.
Footage circulating on social media showed tents being set on fire as some Palestinians helplessly tried to put out the flames, but Reuters could not immediately confirm.
The Israeli military has accused Hamas of using civilian facilities such as hospitals for military purposes, and has announced that it attacked terrorists operating from a command center on the premises, a charge Hamas denies.
Residents say the Israeli military has effectively separated Beit Hanoun, Jabalia and Beit Rahiya in the northernmost reaches of the enclave from Gaza City, forcing families to leave the three towns without permission from families willing to comply with evacuation orders. They reportedly blocked access between the two areas.
Nine days into a major Israeli operation in northern Gaza, the Hamas-run Gaza government media office announced that about 300 Palestinians in the area had been killed in Israeli attacks.
Israel has claimed that its shelling of civilian homes and shelters is aimed at forcing residents to leave Gaza completely, a claim Israel denies.
At least 22 Palestinians were killed late Sunday when an Israeli tank fired on a school sheltering displaced families in the Nuseirat camp in the central Gaza Strip, medical officials said.
The Hamas-run Gaza government media office said at least 15 children and women were among those killed at the school. It added that 80 other people were injured.
Hours earlier, an Israeli airstrike killed five children in Gaza City's Shati refugee camp.
Palestinian news agency WAFA and Hamas media said the children were killed by a missile fired from an Israeli drone while they were playing near a cafe.
The Israeli military did not immediately comment on the two reports.
“What is happening in northern Gaza is horrifying beyond description,” Joyce Musuya, acting UN aid chief, said in a post on social media platform X.
“Israeli military attacks are intensifying. Hospitals are being forced to evacuate patients. Essential supplies are running out. People are forcibly displaced, aid cut off and left to starve. The brutality must end,” she said.
U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris cited a UN report that northern Gaza has been without food for almost two weeks, saying, “Israel is urgently making further efforts to facilitate the flow of aid to those in need.” “There must be,” he said in X.
“Civilians must be protected, they must have access to food, water and medicine. International humanitarian law must be respected,” said Harris, a Democratic candidate for next month's presidential election.
The main attacks have taken place in the north, but Israel has also attacked other areas across the Gaza Strip. The Ministry of Health announced on Sunday that at least 34 people had died so far.
Many Jabalia residents posted on social media platforms: “We will not leave, we will die and we will not leave.”
The northern Gaza Strip, home to 2.3 million people, well over half of the Gaza Strip, was seized by Israel a year ago after terrorist attacks on Israeli towns on October 7 killed 1,200 people. It was bombed and reduced to rubble during the first stage of the attack. They captured 250 hostages.
Hundreds of thousands of residents have returned to the devastated northern region after a year of Israeli attacks that killed 42,000 Palestinians.
Israel redeployed troops more than a week ago to root out the fighters, which it said were regrouping for further attacks. Hamas denies its fighters operate among civilians.
The escalation in northern Gaza paralleled major air and ground operations by Israel on a separate front in southern Lebanon against Hezbollah, an Iranian ally similar to Hamas.
“As the world focuses on the possibility of Lebanon and Israel attacking Iran, Israel is clearing out Jabalia,” said Nasser, who lives in Beit Rahiya in the northern Gaza Strip.
“The occupation forces are bombing roads and destroying residential areas. People can't find anything to eat and are locked in their homes for fear that bombs will fall on their heads.” He told Reuters via a chat app.
The Israeli military said in a statement on Sunday that its forces operating across the Gaza Strip in the past 24 hours had attacked around 40 targets and killed dozens of terrorists.
“Troops of the 162nd Division continue to operate in the Jabaria area and recently the troops killed dozens of terrorists and discovered explosives, weapons, grenades and other means of warfare in the area,” the statement said.
Hamas, Islamic Jihad and other small armed groups said their fighters attacked Israeli forces in Jabalia and nearby areas with anti-tank rockets and mortars.
Palestinian and United Nations officials say no area in Gaza is safe.
They also expressed concern about severe shortages of food, fuel and medicine in northern Gaza, saying the region was at risk of starvation.
