In a significant escalation, Israeli forces have intensified their ground offensive in the northern Gaza Strip, with tanks reaching the outskirts of Gaza City. Heavy shelling has been reported in the Sheikh Radwan neighborhood, prompting many families to flee their homes amid the intensified conflict.
Overnight, an Israeli airstrike in the central Gaza Strip city of Deir Al-Balah struck tents housing displaced Palestinians at Al-Aqsa Hospital. The attack resulted in the deaths of three people and injured 40 others. Medics report that the hospital was sheltering approximately one million people who had been displaced by the ongoing conflict.
The Israeli military stated that the strike targeted militants operating from a command center within the hospital compound. They accused Hamas of using civilian facilities, such as hospitals, for military purposes—a claim that Hamas denies.
Residents report that Israeli forces have effectively isolated the northern towns of Beit Hanoun, Jabalia, and Beit Lahiya from Gaza City. Access between these areas has been blocked, except for families willing to heed evacuation orders and leave the towns.
According to the Hamas-run Gaza government media office, approximately 300 Palestinians have been killed in northern Gaza during the nine days of Israel's major operation in the area. The office alleges that Israel's bombardment of civilian homes and displacement shelters aims to force residents to leave Gaza permanently, a claim that Israel denies.
Later on Sunday, Israeli tank shelling reportedly killed at least 22 Palestinians at a school sheltering displaced families in the Nuseirat camp in the central Gaza Strip. Medics noted that among the casualties were at least 15 children and women, with an additional 80 people wounded.
Earlier, an Israeli airstrike killed five children in the Shati refugee camp in Gaza City. Local reports indicate 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 incidents.
\"The situation in northern Gaza is terrifying beyond words,\" stated Joyce Msuya, acting UN aid chief. \"Attacks by Israeli forces are intensifying. Hospitals are forced to evacuate their patients. Essential supplies are running out. People are forcibly displaced, cut off from aid, left to starve. The atrocities must end.\"
U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, citing UN reports that no food has entered northern Gaza in nearly two weeks, said on social media platform X that \"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.\" Harris, the Democratic party's nominee in next month's presidential election, expressed deep concern over the humanitarian situation.
While the primary assault focuses on the north, Israeli forces are also conducting strikes across the Gaza Strip. The Health Ministry reported on Sunday that at least 34 people have been killed so far.
Many residents of Jabalia have taken to social media, declaring, \"We will not leave; we die, and we don't leave.\" The northern part of Gaza, home to more than half of the territory's 2.3 million people, was heavily bombed in the initial phase of Israel's assault following the October 7 attacks on Israeli towns by militants, which resulted in the deaths of 1,200 people and the capture of 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 deployed troops back into the region to eliminate fighters they claim are regrouping for further attacks—a claim Hamas denies, stating that their fighters do not operate among civilians.
The escalation in northern Gaza coincides with a significant Israeli air 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 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 statement said.
The armed wings of Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and other factions reported that their fighters attacked Israeli forces in Jabalia and nearby areas using anti-tank rockets and mortar fire.
Palestinian and United Nations officials assert 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.
Residents and officials alike are calling for an immediate end to hostilities, as the humanitarian crisis deepens and the prospect of famine looms over the besieged population of the Gaza Strip.
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Israeli tanks deepen their push into the northern Gaza Strip
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