Israeli forces have surrounded hospitals and shelters for displaced individuals in northern Gaza as they intensified their operations against Palestinian militants, according to accounts from residents and medics.
Troops detained men and instructed women to evacuate the Jabalia refugee camp. An Israeli airstrike on a house in Jabalia resulted in five fatalities and left several others injured, medics reported.
The UN Palestinian refugee agency, UNRWA, announced that Israeli authorities were obstructing humanitarian missions from delivering essential supplies such as medicine and food to areas in northern Gaza.
“People trying to escape are being killed, their bodies left on the streets,” stated UNRWA head Philippe Lazzarini on X.
Health officials revealed that they had rejected orders from the Israeli army, which commenced a new incursion into northern Gaza over two weeks ago, to evacuate three hospitals in the region or abandon the patients.
While troops remained outside the hospital, they did not enter, according to medical personnel. Medics at the Kamal Adwan Hospital reported heavy Israeli gunfire near their facility during the night.
“The army is setting schools next to the hospital on fire, and no one is able to enter or exit the hospital,” shared a nurse at the Indonesian Hospital, who requested anonymity.
Latest Middle East stories
An injured child is brought to Al-Ma’madan Ahli Hospital in Gaza City.
Palestinian health officials have reported that at least 18 individuals were killed in Jabalia, with eight others dying in strikes elsewhere in Gaza.
The Israeli military stated in a release that it was conducting operations against “terrorists and terrorist infrastructure” in the Jabalia region.
According to them, troops had assisted thousands of civilians in safely evacuating through organized routes. They claimed Israel was in contact with the international community and Gaza’s healthcare system to ensure the operation of emergency services in hospitals.
In the last day, troops had dismantled militant infrastructure and tunnel entrances and eliminated fighters in the Jabalia area, they reported.
Following the recent killing of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, Israel has escalated its operations in both Gaza and Lebanon, raising hopes of initiating ceasefire discussions to resolve over a year of conflict.
Israel has vowed to eliminate the Hamas militants, who previously exerted control over Gaza and whose attack last year prompted the current war, but this has resulted in widespread destruction of the territory and the deaths of tens of thousands of people.
More than 1.9 million individuals have been left impoverished and desperate for food.
“We are confronted with death from bombs, thirst, and hunger,” said Raed, a resident of Jabalia camp. “Jabalia is being erased, and there are no witnesses to this crime; the world is turning a blind eye.”
Medical services in Gaza are experiencing critical shortages.
Forced to live in restrooms
Hadeel Obeid, a supervising nurse at the Indonesian hospital, reported that they were running low on medical supplies like sterile gauze and medications. The water supply has been cut off, and there has been no food for four consecutive days, she informed Reuters.
According to the United Nations, it has been unable to reach the three hospitals in northern Gaza.
The UN Human Rights Office accused Israeli forces of unlawfully impeding humanitarian assistance and issuing orders that led to forced displacement. It stated that these actions “may be causing the destruction of the Palestinian population in Gaza’s northernmost governorate through death and displacement.”
UNRWA’s Lazzarini remarked that injured individuals were lying without care in hospitals that had been struck.
“The remaining shelters managed by UNRWA are extremely overcrowded, with some displaced persons now compelled to live in restrooms,” he mentioned.
Israel asserts that it is delivering substantial quantities of humanitarian aid into Gaza through land routes and air drops, and it claims to have facilitated the evacuation of patients from the Kamal Adwan Hospital.
However, Palestinians argue that no aid has reached northern Gaza areas where military operations are ongoing.
Residents and medical personnel reported that Israeli forces have reinforced their siege on Jabalia by positioning tanks in nearby towns, Beit Hanoun and Beit Lahiya, and instructing residents to evacuate.
Israeli officials stated that the evacuation orders are intended to separate Hamas fighters from civilians and denied any systematic plan to remove civilians. They asserted that forces operating in northern Gaza have killed numerous Hamas gunmen and dismantled infrastructure.
In contrast, Hamas accused Israel of conducting acts of “genocide and ethnic cleansing” to force the population to leave northern Gaza.
The armed wing of Hamas declared that their fighters attacked the forces with anti-tank rockets and mortar fire, detonating bombs against troops inside tanks and stationed in residences.
In other parts of the enclave, Israeli strikes resulted in at least five deaths in Rafah in southern Gaza and four fatalities in two separate strikes in Gaza City, according to medical sources.
The deceased Sinwar was one of the key planners of the 7 October cross-border attack on Israeli communities, resulting in approximately 1,200 deaths and around 253 individuals taken back to Gaza as hostages, as per Israeli reports.
Since then, Israel’s military campaign has led to the deaths of over 42,500 Palestinians, with an additional 10,000 unaccounted for, presumed dead under debris, according to Gaza health authorities.
