CAIRO: As troops continued their advance along the northern frontier of Gaza, the Israeli military attacked at least five crowded homes in the northern part of the territory early on Thursday. According to Palestinian health sources, numerous people were killed and buried beneath the debris.
According to medics, rescue efforts were underway in the town of Beit Lahiya in northern Gaza. According to Hamas media, 66 people were killed, the majority of them had not been found.
At least 200 people lived in the residential district that was bombarded in Beit Lahiya, and many more were still unaccounted for, according to Hussam Abu Safiya, director of Kamal Adwan Hospital in Beit Lahiya, one of three medical institutions that are hardly functioning in the besieged northern territory. According to Abu Safiya, because they lacked ambulances to transport injured people to hospitals, medics were recovering and treating them on the spot.
After Israel detained or ejected the majority of the medical staff, Abu Safiya stated that even if the injured reach the hospital, many of them die due to a shortage of medical supplies and specialized surgeons.
According to the UNRWA chief, 80% of the enclave is now at high risk.
For weeks, Israeli forces have been concentrating their operations in Gaza on the northern border, where they have besieged three large towns and forced their citizens to evacuate. Since starting the most recent offensive on October 5, Israeli forces have demolished hundreds of homes in the three towns of Jabalia, Beit Lahiya, and Beit Hanoun, according to the locals.
Gaza is currently considered “high risk.”
Israel disputes Palestinian claims that it is intent on permanently displacing residents in order to establish a buffer zone along Gaza’s northern border. The head of the UN Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA), Philippe Lazzarini, stated on Thursday that 80 percent of the Gaza Strip is currently at high risk, and that many people are becoming more and more desperate.
They have nowhere safe to go, so they are stuck. People in northern Gaza are still under strict siege. He said in a post on X that they had been denied humanitarian aid for over 40 days and are fleeing in vicious circles for their life. “Insecure routes have made it extremely difficult to deliver the limited aid that is permitted in Gaza,” he continued. Last month, US President Joe Biden’s government warned Israel that it had 30 days to increase the flow of aid to Gaza or face repercussions for US military funding.
Washington announced on November 12 that it had determined Israel had made progress and was not obstructing Gaza’s supply. Several help organizations disagreed.
Armed gangs have increased their plundering of assistance shipments, which has made matters worse and driven up the cost of basic food products like flour. Over the past week, the cost of a 25 kg bag of flour, if it is available, has increased from 50 shekels ($13) to 700 shekels ($186).
Hunger is the code word for today in Gaza. Tamer, a Palestinian from Gaza City who is currently residing with hundreds of thousands of refugees who have swarm into Deir Al-Balah in central Gaza, said, “Looters are sharing the occupation’s war against the displaced.”
An Israeli strike in Rafah, in the south of the Gaza Strip, close to the Egyptian border, killed three individuals, while another hit in Nuseirat camp in the central Gaza Strip killed two.
