Israel intensifies strikes on northern Gaza
Residents say bombing as intense as at the start of the offensive; 79 more Palestinians killed
Some Palestinian civilians were fleeing their homes in northern Gaza yesterday just weeks after returning because of an Israeli bombardment which they said was as intense as at the start of the offensive.
Much of the shelling was focused for a second day on Beit Lahiya on the northern edge of Gaza, where the Israeli military gave evacuation orders to four neighbourhoods on Tuesday, warning they were in a "dangerous combat zone".
Israel is "moving ahead" with an assault on Hamas in Rafah and will work to spare Palestinian civilians there, a government spokesperson said yesterday. The move comes as the US Congress on Tuesday night approved $13 billion in military aid for Israel.
- Israel 'moving ahead' with Rafah operation
- Deadly shelling reported in central Gaza
- Death toll in enclave rises to 34,262
The offensive, now in its seventh month, has killed at least 34,262 Palestinians in the territory, with many more feared buried in the rubble. The tally includes at least 79 deaths in the past 24 hours, the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said yesterday.
The offensive has laid to waste much of the densely populated enclave, displacing most of its 2.3 million people and creating a humanitarian crisis.
Overnight, two people were killed in a strike on a house in the southern city of Rafah, four were killed when a missile hit a group standing outside a supermarket in the Al-Nuseirat refugee camp and one was killed in a strike on a house in Deir Al-Balah, central Gaza, Palestinian health officials said.
Residents in northern Gaza and suburbs of Gaza City also reported heavy shelling.
"We don't know why this is all happening. Is it because we returned home and we finally got some aid through after months of starvation and the Israelis didn't like that?" said Mohammad Jamal, 29, a resident of Gaza City, near Zeitoun, one of Gaza's oldest suburbs.
Asked about yesterday's developments, the Israeli military had no immediate comment.
Israel said its operations in Beit Lahiya targeted areas from where the armed wing of Hamas-aligned Islamic Jihad had launched rockets at two Israeli border settlements on Tuesday.
Additional targets, including operational tunnel shafts, military structures and a launcher containing rockets ready to be fired at Israel were also struck, the Israel Defense Forces said in a statement.
Yesterday, residents also reported shelling in central Gaza around Al-Nuseirat and Khan Younis, a city in the south from where troops withdrew earlier this month.
In one incident, Al-Nuseirat residents said an army helicopter landed near the camp and engaged in gun battles with fighters. The area then came under heavy tank fire.
Israeli media suggested Israel would, after weeks of delay, soon send troops into Rafah, on the southern border with Egypt, where more than a million displaced Palestinians are sheltering.
Plans for an attack on the town, where Israel says four intact Hamas battalions are sheltering, has raised widespread international concern, with aid agencies warning of a potential humanitarian catastrophe.