The United Nations has condemned recent Israeli attacks on northern Gaza that have caused “massive civilian casualties”.
The comments from a spokesman for Secretary-General Antonio Guterres came as at least 10 people were reportedly killed by Israeli fire at a food distribution center in the Jabaliya refugee camp in northern Gaza, where Israeli tanks and troops were continuing Launch a ground offensive.
The United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees (Unrwa) said shells struck inside and outside the center on Monday morning as some hungry people tried to collect food.
The Israeli military said it was reviewing the incident, adding that its operation was “only directed against terrorist targets.”
Hundreds of people have been reported dead since nine days ago when the military said it would launch an offensive in the area and two neighboring northern towns to root out Hamas militants regrouping there.
The United Nations said on Sunday that more than 50,000 people had fled the Jabaliya region, but others remained stranded in their homes as ground bombardments and fighting intensified. U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said Israeli actions in the region were “intensifying.”
The offensive also forced the closure of water wells, bakeries, health points and shelters, and suspended other humanitarian services, including malnutrition treatment, the report warned.
The United Nations has said it has not allowed shipments of essential goods, including food, since Oct. 1, and two nearby crossings have been closed, nor has it allowed shipments of supplies from the south.
The Israeli military said a convoy of 30 aid trucks entered through a crossing south of Gaza City on Sunday, as U.S. President Joe Biden told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that the White House said ” Access to the north must be restored”.
The military has ordered residents of Jabaliya and nearby areas to evacuate to Israel’s designated “humanitarian zone” in southern Gaza, saying it is “taking large-scale operations against terrorist groups and will continue to do so for a long time.”
But an estimated 400,000 Palestinians living in the north say they are reluctant to flee to the south, fearing they will not be allowed to return home if they do.
They believe the Israeli military is planning to implement a plan proposed by a retired Israeli general to completely clear the north of civilians and trap Hamas fighters who remain there until they are released since the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023 Israeli hostages held by Israel.
The Israeli military denies that the plan is being carried out. “We are ensuring that civilians are spared from harm while fighting terrorist groups in Jabaliya,” spokesman Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani told reporters.
Overnight, an Israeli plane struck a tent camp for displaced persons next to the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in the central town of Deir al-Balah, killing four people.
The Israeli military said it “carried out precision strikes against terrorists operating within the command and control center in the parking area” and took measures to mitigate harm to civilians.
“Shortly after the strike, a fire broke out in the hospital parking lot, most likely caused by a secondary explosion. The incident is under review,” Lieutenant Colonel Shoshani wrote on X. “The hospital and its functions are not affected by the strike.
Video posted online appeared to show a secondary explosionbut it was unclear whether they were caused by weapons or fuel tanks.
More than 50 tents were burned and the hospital was working to treat about 50 injured, including children, women and the elderly, as well as casualties from other recent incidents, said Dr. Khalil Daklan, a spokesman for Al-Aqsa Hospital. .
Camp resident Umm Mahmoud Wadi said her family had lost everything.
“Where should I take my girls? Winter is coming. No bedding, no clothes, nothing. I’m so sad. The gas bottle exploded – we [our world] It exploded.
Sunday night, Tank fire reportedly killed more than 20 people at a UN-run school in the Nuserat refugee camp being used as a shelter for displaced familieslocated north of Deir al-Balah.
A spokesman for UNRWA told the BBC it was “another night of absolute terror for people in Gaza”.
Louise Watridge said heavy damage to the Mufti School in Nuserat meant the school was unavailable for the second round of the main polio vaccination campaign that started in central Gaza on Monday.
Local medical staff and UNRWA staff are leading efforts to administer the vaccine to 590,000 children under the age of 10 over the next two weeks.
The World Health Organization (WHO) and Unicef have discovered the first case of polio in two decades in an unvaccinated baby in central Gaza, killing 80% of Gaza’s 2.3 million people. % are currently sheltering in the area.
U.N. officials urge respect for humanitarian pause during vaccination campaign.
“This is crucial because we can’t vaccinate children who are on the run and who are forcibly displaced. We can’t vaccinate when bombs are falling from the sky,” Ms. Votridge said.
She added: “These pauses are during the day and we have very specific time frames to access these thousands of children. Attacks and military operations do continue around this and any kind of humanitarian response in this situation is It is an extremely dangerous and terrifying experience.
On October 7, 2023, Hamas launched an unprecedented attack on southern Israel, killing approximately 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages, and Israel launched a campaign to destroy Hamas.
Since then, more than 42,280 people have been killed in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry.
