Israeli forces push into southern Gaza
GAZA CITY, PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES—Israeli forces pushed on Sunday into southern Gaza, where hundreds of thousands of civilians have fled in search of shelter from bombardments and intense fighting with Hamas militants.
Aid groups have sounded the alarm on the “apocalyptic” humanitarian situation in the Palestinian territory, warning it is on the brink of being overwhelmed by disease and starvation.Hamas, which runs Gaza, said on Sunday that Israel had launched a series of “very violent raids” targeting the southern city of Khan Yunis and the road from there to Rafah, near the border with Egypt.
Death toll
A source close to Hamas and Palestinian militants Islamic Jihad told Agence France-Presse (AFP) that both groups were involved in “fierce clashes” with Israeli forces on Sunday near Khan Yunis. An AFP journalist reported strikes in the area.
At least 17,700 people, mostly women and children, have died in two months of fighting in the narrow strip of territory, according to the latest figures from Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry.
Israel has vowed to eradicate Hamas after the group’s unprecedented attacks on Oct. 7, when its fighters broke through Gaza’s militarized border, killed about 1,200 people and seized hostages, according to Israeli officials.Refuge in hospitals
Israel on Saturday said 137 captives remained in the Palestinian territory.
With few options for safety, people across the Gaza Strip sought refuge in hospitals on Saturday.
The Israeli military has said that Hamas members have built tunnels under medical facilities and are using such infrastructure as command centers or as storage for weapons.
In the northern Gaza City, an AFP journalist said thousands were sheltering in the Al-Shifa hospital, which is no longer functioning and partly destroyed following an Israeli raid last month.
‘Madness’
Hundreds of makeshift tents fashioned from scraps of fabric and plastic filled the hospital’s courtyards and garden amid collapsed walls. Suheil Abu Dalfa, 56, from the city’s Shejaiya district, said he had fled heavy bombardment by Israeli planes and tanks.
“It was madness. A shell hit the house and wounded my 20-year-old son,” he told AFP.
“We fled to the Old City, everything was just strikes and destruction … we didn’t know where to go,” he said.
“We don’t know if they will storm the hospital again.”
In central Gaza, Hamas health authorities said on Saturday that 71 dead bodies had arrived at the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah over 24 hours.
‘Apocalyptic’
And in the south of the territory, 62 dead bodies had arrived at Nasser hospital in Khan Yunis, the health authorities said.An AFP correspondent at the hospital saw a child on a makeshift stretcher and others waiting for care on the floor, while firefighters outside tried to douse a burning building hit by an Israeli strike.
The situation “is not just a catastrophe, it’s apocalyptic,” said Bushra Khalidi of Oxfam.
An estimated 1.9 million of Gaza’s 2.4 million people have been displaced. —AFP
