Israeli military intensifies deadly air, ground assault on Gaza
The situation in Gaza remains precarious as the Israeli military has intensified aerial and land attacks in the past few hours.
Three people were killed in Gaza City’s Tuffah, which has received forced evacuation orders. Some civilians have been forced to move, but others remain as they believe nowhere else is safe.
With the destruction of parts of the al-Ahli Hospital in the north, there is a grave sense of danger and urgency, particularly in Gaza City. We have received reports that Israeli drones also continue to hover at low altitudes in Gaza City.
A barrage of air strikes also hit the al-Mawasi area in the south, which is supposedly designated as a “humanitarian zone” by the Israeli military. We understand that at least one person has been killed and others have been transported to Nasser Hospital for medical care.
Many Palestinians feel that continued Israeli ground operations will bring them more suffering.
Volunteers search for survivors after Israel bombs Jabalia apartment building
Palestinian farm union warns against Israel’s ‘campaign of mass starvation’ in Gaza
The Ramallah-based Union of Agricultural Work Committees urgently draws attention to the “deepening famine” in the Gaza Strip.
It called this “a catastrophe deliberately manufactured through the Israeli genocidal war” as it has blocked all aid from entering since March 2.
The union reminded that in April, far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich reaffirmed the Israeli commitment to enforcing famine in Gaza, declaring that “not even a grain of wheat” would be allowed into the enclave.
“This is not policy failure; this is a calculated campaign of mass starvation,” it said. “Today, the people of Gaza are starving by design.”
Satellite images confirm Israeli army controls about half of Rafah city
An analysis of satellite imagery and maps by Al Jazeera has revealed that the Israeli army has expanded its operations in Rafah city in the southern Gaza Strip.
It now controls an area estimated at approximately 30sq km (11.5sq miles), which is 47 percent of the total area of the city.
The army has also started paving a road extending from the Sufa crossing towards Salah al-Din Street, with a length of 4km (2.5 miles).
It comes days after the Israeli military said it had completed the construction of what it called the Morag Corridor, which cuts off Rafah from the rest of Gaza.
Israel’s Defence Minister Israel Katz said on Saturday that the Morag Corridor effectively turned Rafah into an “Israeli security zone” and added that the Netzarim Corridor, which divides the Strip in two, would also be expanded.
Israel’s war on Gaza has killed 50,983 Palestinians
The Health Ministry in Gaza reports that 38 people were killed in the past 24 hours and one person was rescued from under the rubble. This brings the death toll of Israeli attacks since the start of the war to 50,983 killed and 116,274 wounded.
Since March 18, when Israel ended the ceasefire by launching more attacks, at least 1,613 Palestinians have been killed and 4,233 wounded. A large number of victims are still believed to be trapped under the rubble or otherwise missing and unreachable.
