Israeli strikes throughout Gaza have resulted in the deaths of 42 individuals as Israeli forces escalated their siege of the northern areas of the Palestinian enclave, encircling hospitals and refugee shelters, and instructing residents to move southward, according to medics and local residents.
The Gaza health ministry, along with the World Health Organization, reported they would be unable to commence a polio vaccination campaign in northern Gaza as initially planned due to the severe bombardments, widespread displacements, and lack of access.
The operation by Israeli forces commenced in the north approximately three weeks ago, with the stated objective of preventing Hamas fighters from regrouping. This operation has intensified following the death of Hamas leader Yahya Al-Sinwar just a week prior.
Israel’s allies, including the United States, expressed hope that Sinwar’s death could serve as a new catalyst for peace, allowing Israel to claim that it had met some of its key goals in Gaza.
Last Friday, the Israeli military announced the deployment of another army unit to Jabalia, located on the northern outskirts of Gaza. Residents reported that the troops have besieged shelters, compelling displaced individuals to evacuate while detaining many men. The health ministry noted that at least 650 people have been killed since the onset of this renewed offensive.
Among the 42 fatalities reported from Israeli military strikes across the region yesterday, 37 were in northern Gaza.
The Gaza Civil Emergency Service indicated that three of its rescuers were injured in northern Gaza due to what they characterized as a “targeted strike,” aimed at driving them out of Jabalia, shortly after the Israeli army instructed some of their personnel to vacate the camp.
Subsequently, they announced a complete suspension of their operations in northern Gaza, following the detention of five staff members by Israeli forces and the bombing of their sole fire truck.
“Our operations have come to a complete halt in the North Gaza Governorate; the situation has become catastrophic, leaving citizens without any humanitarian services,” the civil emergency service stated.
The UN Palestinian refugee agency, UNRWA, reported that one of its staff members was killed when an UNRWA vehicle was struck in Deir Al-Balah in central Gaza. Medics also stated that the man’s brother had died. Additionally, the municipality of Gaza City reported that two city workers were killed and three others injured in a strike there.
Health and civil emergency officials mentioned that numerous bodies of Palestinians, slain by Israeli fire in and around Jabalia, remain scattered on roadsides and under debris where medical teams have been unable to access them.
Hospitals in the northern region have either ceased operations or are functioning at minimal capacity due to the ongoing offensive. Those hospitals refusing Israeli evacuation orders report an urgent shortage of blood for transfusions, as well as coffins and shrouds for the deceased.
“We appeal to the international community, which has failed to protect and provide for our people, and has been unable to deliver food and medicine, to make an effort to send shrouds for our fallen,” the Gaza health ministry stated.
The polio vaccination effort, launched following a case of a baby being paralyzed by the disease in Gaza for the first time in 25 years, has had to be halted.
“We have been unable to initiate the campaign to vaccinate 120,000 children in Gaza City and northern Gaza today due to the siege and Israeli aggression,” stated health ministry official Majdi Dhair.
Israel’s military humanitarian unit, COGAT, which oversees aid and commercial shipments to Gaza, announced that the vaccination campaign in northern Gaza would commence in the coming days “after a joint assessment and at the request” of the World Health Organization and UN International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF).
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited Israel
Call for truce
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited Israel and was en route to Saudi Arabia to advocate for a ceasefire, marking the first major US peace initiative following the death of Hamas leader Sinwar and the last before the presidential election on 5 November, which may alter US policy in the region.
Washington has urged Israel to facilitate increased humanitarian supplies to northern Gaza. Although Israel claims to have delivered aid via numerous trucks and air drops, Gaza medics contend that the assistance has not reached them.
COGAT noted that 237 trucks carrying humanitarian aid from Jordan and the international community had been transferred to northern Gaza over the past eight days.
Israel stated it “will continue to act in accordance with international law to facilitate and ease the humanitarian response to the Gaza Strip.”
However, Palestinian health officials and locals reported that no aid has been permitted into Jabalia, Beit Hanoun, and Beit Lahiya, three towns situated on the northern edge of Gaza.
The Israeli military stated its forces are targeting Hamas militants who have launched attacks from these areas, claiming to have killed numerous militants and destroyed military infrastructure while assisting residents who followed evacuation orders.
The overall death toll in Gaza is nearing 43,000, according to the latest figures from the health ministry, with nearly the entirety of the 2.3 million Gazans displaced, many multiple times.
The Israeli offensive was initiated in response to the Hamas-led attack on Israel on 7 October 2023, during which 1,200 individuals lost their lives and around 250 were taken hostage back into Gaza.
