100,000 Palestinians trapped in northern Gaza as Israeli forces intensify attacks

Israeli tanks launched a deeper offensive Monday into two northern Gaza towns and a historic refugee camp, trapping nearly 100,000 civilians, according to the Palestinian emergency service. According to the army, these operations were aimed at regrouping Hamas militants.

The Israeli army said soldiers captured nearly 100 suspected Hamas militants in a raid on the Kamal Adwan hospital in the Jabalia camp. Hamas and medical officials denied the presence of any militants in the hospital.

The Gaza Strip Health Ministry said at least 19 people were killed in Israeli airstrikes and shelling on Monday, 13 of them in the north of the shattered coastal area.

The Palestinian Civil Emergency Service said about 100,000 people were trapped without medical or food supplies in Jabalia, Beit Lahiya and Beit Hanoun. Reuters could not independently verify the number.

The emergency service said its operations had come to a halt due to Israel’s three-week offensive in the north; This was the area where the military said it had decimated Hamas fighting forces early in the year-long war.

As mediation talks for a ceasefire led by the United States, Egypt and Qatar resumed on Sunday after several failed attempts, Egypt’s president offered the first two-day ceasefire to replace four Israeli hostages from Hamas with some Palestinian prisoners, the first in 10 years. Negotiations will follow. days of permanent ceasefire.

There has been no public statement from Israel or Hamas, which remain committed to irreconcilable terms to end the war.

The war in Gaza has sparked a wider conflict in the Middle East as Israeli forces invaded southern Lebanon to stop Hezbollah firing rockets into northern Israel in support of Hamas, the Iran-backed militant group in Gaza, raising fears of global instability. inflamed.

It has also triggered rare direct clashes between the Middle East’s archenemies, Israel and Iran. Over the weekend, Israeli warplanes struck missile sites in Iran in retaliation for Iran’s missile attack on Israel on October 1.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry said on Monday that Tehran would “use all available tools” to respond to Israel’s weekend attack.

ISRAEL RAID ON NORTH GAZA HOSPITAL

It was stated that three hospitals in Northern Gaza, where the authorities rejected the Israeli army’s evacuation order, were almost non-functional. At least two people were damaged by Israeli fire during the attack, and medical, food and fuel supplies were depleted.

Last week, at least one doctor, one nurse and two child patients died in these hospitals due to lack of treatment.

On Monday, Gaza’s health ministry said only one of about 70 medical staff – a pediatrician – remained at Kamal Adwan Hospital after Israel “detained and deported” others.

The Israeli army said that soldiers who raided the hospital “captured approximately 100 terrorists from the compound, including terrorists who tried to escape during the evacuation of civilians.” “They found weapons, terrorist funds and intelligence documents inside the hospital.”

Residents of northern Gaza said Israeli forces surrounded schools and other shelters housing displaced families, ordering them out before rounding up the men and directing women and children from the area towards Gaza City and the south.

‘Nonsense Talks About Ceasefire’

While the majority chose to temporarily move to Gaza City for fear that they would otherwise never be able to access their homes again, only a few families headed to southern Gaza.

Some said they wrote obituaries if they died from constant bombardment, saying they would prefer death to displacement.

“While the world is busy with new nonsense talk about Lebanon and a few-day ceasefire (in Gaza), the Israeli occupation is destroying northern Gaza and displacing its people,” a Jabalia resident told Reuters via a chat app.

“(But) neither (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu nor Eiland will be able to get us out of northern Gaza.”

Giora Eiland, a former head of Israel’s National Security Council, was the lead author of the much-discussed proposal called the “generals’ plan” that would quickly clear northern Gaza of civilians before starving surviving Hamas fighters by cutting off Israel’s water supply. and food supplies.

Israel’s tank offensive this month has led to Palestinian accusations that the military has embraced Eiland’s concept, which he envisioned as a short-term step to defeat Hamas in the north but meant the Palestinians would completely clear the area and create a buffer zone. Army after the war.

The Israeli army has denied pursuing such a plan. Hamas denies this accusation, saying its forces operate in accordance with international law and target militants hiding among civilians and using them as human shields.

Northern Gaza was the first region to be hit by an Israeli ground offensive following Hamas’ cross-border offensive on October 7, 2023; Towns such as Beit Hanun and Beit Lahiya were destroyed by intense bombardment.

However, Hamas-led militants continue to attack Israeli forces through hit-and-run operations with anti-tank rockets, mortars, and bombs placed in buildings, streets, and other areas where they expect Israeli forces to take up positions.

The war broke out when Hamas fighters stormed southern Israel on October 7 last year, killing 1,200 people and taking more than 250 hostages, according to Israel’s tally.

The death toll from Israel’s retaliatory air and ground attack on Gaza has reached 43,020, the Gaza health ministry said on Monday, leaving the densely populated area largely reduced to rubble.

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