Israeli forces bomb UNRWA school in Gaza City
Israeli forces have attacked the Salah al-Din School west of Gaza City, where hundreds of people have taken refuge, the Palestinian Civil Defence has said.
“In an initial tally, two people have been killed and 15 wounded in the attack on the school,” a spokesperson for the civil defence said. The military acknowledged it carried out an attack, saying on its official Telegram channel, however, that it was “a precise strike on Hamas terrorists”.
Those some really dumb 'terrorists', still hiding in the most targeted places in Gaza... Enough with the lies.
Health Ministry calls on international community to protect Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital
The ministry issued a statement calling for protection of the facility located in the central Gaza Strip “in light of the ongoing Israeli aggression” and as Israeli troops continue to advance to the vicinity of the hospital, where hundreds of patients have taken refuge.
“We call on all relevant international and UN institutions to take the necessary measures to protect the hospital, medical staff and patients inside it, at a time when the ministry has no other options or alternatives,” the ministry said.
Israeli forces carry out multiple deadly attacks in Gaza
The Gaza Health Ministry has said that at least 50 Palestinians were killed and 124 wounded in Israeli attacks on Gaza in the last 24 hours.
Here are some of the attacks launched by Israeli forces today:
- Israeli military struck Salah al-Din School and a nearby house in Gaza City, killing four people and wounding 18, the Government Media Office said.
- In the town of Bani Suhaila near Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, an Israeli air raid killed seven Palestinians, two of them children and five women, at a tent encampment for displaced people, medics said.
- The military issued new evacuation orders in the heavily overcrowded area of Deir el-Balah, in central Gaza, where hundreds of thousands of Palestinians displaced by the fighting have sought shelter. Israeli forces then fired into the crowds, killing at least one person and wounding several others, medics and residents said.
Palestinians packed in Deir al-Balah have few options
Israeli forces have continued to push into Deir el-Balah, where a majority of Gaza’s population is now taking refuge in with little access to necessities like food and water and nowhere to go, says Al Jazeera’s Tareq Abu Azzoum, reporting from the besieged enclave.
“Recently, the Israeli army started a very controversial new military evacuation and displacement order,” he said.
“We’ve been seeing Israeli tanks starting to thrust deeper into Deir el-Balah town. We’re talking about a very overcrowded area with displaced families, but the entire Strip has been under massive attacks by Israeli artillery and fighter jets.”
Israel’s evacuation orders in Deir el-Balah displace Palestinians again
Fear, panic after Israeli tanks reported in Deir el-Balah
Since evacuation orders were announced for parts of Deir el-Balah, a wave of terror and panic has swept through the area. Deir el-Balah is home to nearly a million displaced people, is under immense strain and its infrastructure – particularly water and sanitation networks – has largely collapsed.
Upon hearing the orders, people scrambled to leave their homes. Eyewitnesses also reported Israeli tanks near the al-Mazraa school area, southeast of Deir el-Balah. “The tanks approached one of the schools and started shelling near civilians. Quadcopters were also shooting at people,” Dia Lafi, a fellow journalist, reported. “There’s no place to go, no transportation for those trying to flee.”
‘We don’t want aid or food coupons. Just stop this war’
As Palestinians start fleeing Deir el-Balah, Abu Ahmed Khalil, standing outside the home he had fled to, gathered his few belongings and said, “Every day, there’s a new evacuation map … where are we supposed to go?”
“We pack our beds and whatever we can carry, and leave without knowing the destination. This has been our life for 10 months.”
Mohammad Yasser, in the middle of loading more mattresses onto a car outside their temporary shelter, shouted in desperation, “Have mercy on us, world, have mercy. We don’t want aid or food coupons. Just stop this war.”
“The evacuation feels like a mass exodus. There’s nowhere to go. Deir el-Balah is the final station. We’ll end up sitting in the streets,” Yasser continued. “If it weren’t for my children, I’d stay, even if it meant dying here. My daughter was born and raised in this war. We’ve suffered enough.”
Palestinians, carrying their belongings, are on their way to safer areas following the Israeli army’s warning for the evacuation of Abu Areef and al-Mazra areas in Deir el-Balah
Eight Palestinians killed in Beit Lahiya
The Palestinian Wafa news agency is reporting that at least eight people have been killed and many wounded in an Israeli attack targeting a house in Beit Lahiya, northern Gaza.
The report added that “intensive raids” are currently taking place in Deir el-Balah.
