Israeli forces have expanded their operations in the northern Gaza Strip, with tanks reaching the northern edge of Gaza City and bombarding districts in the Sheikh Radwan neighborhood. The intensified military action has forced many families to flee their homes amidst escalating violence.
In the early hours of Monday, an Israeli air strike targeted tents of displaced Palestinians inside Al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir Al-Balah, a central Gaza city where a million people are seeking shelter. The attack resulted in the deaths of three people and injuries to 40 others, according to medical sources. The Israeli military stated that the strike was aimed at militants operating from a command center within the hospital compound, alleging that Hamas uses civilian facilities like hospitals for military purposes—a claim that Hamas denies.
Residents report that Israeli forces have effectively isolated the towns of Beit Hanoun, Jabalia, and Beit Lahiya in the far north of the enclave from Gaza City. Access between these areas has been blocked, except for families willing to comply with evacuation orders and leave the towns.
Nine days into this significant military operation in northern Gaza, the Gaza government’s media office, run by Hamas, announced that Israeli strikes have killed around 300 Palestinians in the region. The office accused Israel of targeting civilian homes and displacement shelters with the intent to force residents to leave Gaza permanently, an allegation that Israel denies.
Later on Sunday, at least 22 Palestinians were killed by Israeli tank shelling at a school sheltering displaced families in the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza, according to medical officials. The Gaza government’s media office reported that among the victims were 15 women and children, and that 80 others were wounded.
Earlier, an Israeli air strike in the Shati refugee camp in Gaza City claimed the lives of five children. The Palestinian official news agency WAFA and Hamas media stated that the children were playing near a café when they were struck by a missile fired from an Israeli drone. The Israeli military has not commented on these reports.
Joyce Msuya, the acting UN aid chief, expressed deep concern over the situation on social media platform X, stating, “What’s happening in northern Gaza is terrifying beyond words. Attacks by Israeli forces are intensifying. Hospitals are forced to evacuate their patients. Essential supplies are running out. People forcibly displaced, cut off from aid, left to starve. The atrocities must end.”
U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic Party’s nominee in next month’s presidential election, highlighted the urgent need for humanitarian aid in northern Gaza. Citing UN reports that no food has entered the region in nearly two weeks, Harris posted on X, “Israel must urgently do more to facilitate the flow of aid to those in need. Civilians must be protected and must have access to food, water, and medicine. International humanitarian law must be respected.”
Despite the main assault focusing on the north, Israeli forces are also striking other areas across the Gaza Strip. The health ministry reported on Sunday that at least 34 people have been killed so far. Residents of Jabalia have taken to social media, declaring, “We will not leave, we die, and we don’t leave,” in defiance of evacuation orders.
The northern region of Gaza, home to well over half of the territory’s 2.3 million residents, was heavily bombarded in the first phase of Israel’s assault on the territory a year ago, following the October 7 attacks on Israeli towns by militants who killed 1,200 people and captured 250 hostages. After a year of Israeli assaults that have killed 42,000 Palestinians, hundreds of thousands of residents have returned to the devastated northern areas. Over a week ago, Israel redeployed troops to root out fighters it claims are regrouping for further attacks. Hamas maintains that its fighters do not operate among civilians.
The escalation in northern Gaza coincides with a significant Israeli air assault and ground campaign on a separate front in southern Lebanon against Hezbollah. The Israeli military announced on Sunday that forces operating throughout the Gaza Strip in the past 24 hours have attacked approximately 40 targets and killed dozens of militants. “The forces of Division 162 continue to operate in the Jabalia region. In the last day, the forces killed dozens of terrorists and found explosives, weapons, grenades, and other means of warfare in the region,” the military statement said.
Armed groups including the military wings of Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and smaller factions reported that their fighters engaged Israeli forces in Jabalia and nearby areas using anti-tank rockets and mortar fire.
Palestinian and United Nations officials have reiterated that there are no safe areas in Gaza. They have expressed deep concern over the severe shortages of food, fuel, and medical supplies in northern Gaza, warning of a potential famine.
(With input from Reuters)
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Israeli tanks deepen their push into the northern Gaza Strip
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