The civil defense service in Gaza said that Israeli troops murdered several individuals throughout the Palestinian territory on Wednesday, as the military intensified its offensive on Gaza City, prompting the displacement of hundreds of thousands.
Israel has initiated a significant aerial and terrestrial assault on Gaza City to eliminate Hamas following nearly two years of conflict.
At the end of August, the United Nations estimated that around one million individuals resided in Gaza City and its vicinity, where it had proclaimed a famine.
The Israeli military reports that over 550,000 individuals have evacuated the city and relocated southward. However, Gaza’s civil defense service, a rescue organization functioning under Hamas jurisdiction, estimates the figure at about 450,000.
Thaer Saqr, 39, said AFP on Wednesday that he departed from the Sheikh Radwan neighborhood of Gaza City the previous day, traveling southward with his wife, children, and sister.
“The tanks along the coastal road commenced firing upon us, resulting in my sister’s death,” he stated.
Saqr stated that he had returned to Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City and “will not depart, even if they annihilate us all.”
I implore the global community: assist us. I address Israel: you request our evacuation; however, how can we comply when we lack shekels, vehicles, and a destination?
The civil defense agency reported that “hundreds of families” have been sleeping on the ground for several days after evacuating from northern Gaza, unable to obtain temporary shelter.
– ‘Deplorable spectacle’ –
The civil defense said that Israeli troops murdered 40 individuals in assaults throughout the Gaza Strip on Wednesday, including 22 fatalities resulting from three airstrikes on a warehouse housing displaced persons near the Firas market in Gaza City.
According to the agency’s spokesperson, Mahmud Bassal, the deceased comprised six mothers and nine children.
In response to an inquiry from AFP, the Israeli military stated it was “investigating the matter.”
Media limitations in the region and challenges in visiting multiple locations prevent AFP from independently corroborating the information provided by the civil defense or the Israeli military.
AFP images after the assault depicted a scene of destruction, with Palestinians sifting among substantial heaps of debris and distorted metal. At the same time, two men transported a body enveloped in ragged blankets.
In the aftermath, weeping ladies knelt by their loved ones, embracing their lifeless forms enveloped in white shrouds.
At least six corpses were positioned on the ground, with two resembling the size of infants.
Mohammed Hajjaj, who lost family members, said AFP that “intense bombardment” struck the building while individuals were asleep.
We arrived and discovered infants and women dismembered. It was a lamentable spectacle.
– ‘Mortality was imminent’ –
In early September, Israel commenced its US-supported ground attack on Gaza City, aiming to capture the urban center and dismantle the Palestinian Islamist organization Hamas.
The military has instructed Palestinians to go to a “humanitarian area” in the coastal region of Al-Mawasi in the south, where it claims that relief, medical assistance, and humanitarian infrastructure will be available.
Initially, Israel designated the region as a safe zone at the start of the conflict; nevertheless, it has subsequently conducted many attacks there, asserting that its actions are aimed against Hamas.
Mahmud al-Dreimly, 44, stated that he relocated with his family a day before residing in a tent in the Al-Rimal neighborhood of Gaza City.
He said AFP, “I witnessed tanks firing into the sky and occasionally at individuals,” adding, “I sensed that death was imminent.”
Dreimly reported observing tanks in the Tel al-Hawa and Al-Sabra neighborhoods, as well as on the periphery of Al-Rimal.
The start of the ground offensive coincided with a UN investigation that accused Israel of perpetrating “genocide” in the Gaza Strip.
Israel dismissed the results and condemned the investigation as “distorted and false.”
In almost two years, Israeli military operations have resulted in the deaths of at least 65,419 Palestinians, predominantly civilians, as reported by the health ministry in Hamas-controlled Gaza, a statistic deemed reliable by the UN.
The Hamas assault that ignited the conflict led to the fatalities of 1,219 individuals, predominantly civilians, according to an AFP count derived from Israeli statistics.
