Tanks deploy as Israeli PM says air attacks on Gaza ‘only the beginning’
Israeli tanks manoeuvre near northern Gaza on Tuesday
Israeli attacks overnight on Gaza described as nonstop
We reported earlier that Israeli raids on southern Gaza’s Khan Younis and Rafah cities killed at least 14 people. Our Al Jazeera Arabic colleagues and local Palestinian media also report the following in a night of attacks on Gaza that “did not stop”:
- Three people were reported killed in an Israeli attack on a family home in the Sabra area of Gaza City.
- Israeli helicopter gunships and quadcopters, together with artillery, were reported east of the Zeitoun neighbourhood in Gaza City.
- A residential home was attacked in Deir el-Balah, in central Gaza, and a helicopter fired near Netzarim and north of central Gaza.
- Israeli helicopter fire and artillery shelling were reported east of the Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza.
- Shooting by Israeli ground forces was reported northwest of Beit Lahiya in northern Gaza.
- Israeli warplanes raided the al-Mawasi area to the west of Khan Younis and bombed a home in Deir el-Balah.
‘Nothing to lose’: Many Gaza residents opt not to follow Israeli forced displacement order
Israeli forces continue to target new areas across Gaza, including southern, central and northern parts.
Over the past few hours, they dropped leaflets on the northern parts of Gaza, especially Beit Hanoon, telling Palestinians to evacuate. They also dropped leaflets over Khan Younis, telling Palestinians to evacuate to the western part of al-Mawasi.
But this time, many Palestinians, especially those in Beit Hanoon and other northern areas, decided not to evacuate because they say they do not have anything to lose and refuse to repeat the displacement journey.
Palestinians inspect the site of an Israeli strike on a tent housing displaced people in Khan Younis, Gaza, on March 19
Israel taking aim at Gaza’s civil services
As far as the Israeli government is concerned, what comes next is more war. The messages and statements [from the government] we’ve been monitoring speak about an escalatory approach. They say this is just the beginning.
They concentrate on the fact that [Israeli forces] are not just targeting Hamas military personnel but Gaza’s civilian infrastructure as well.
That includes anything that facilitates the lives of Palestinians in Gaza, that allows them to have some semblance of order or services, such as courts issuing death and birth certificates.
This is what’s being targeted at the moment, according to Israeli statements, as well as the people at the helm of those institutions.
