Israeli offensive in hard-hit Gaza kills dozens, threatens hospitals

A large-scale Israeli operation in northern Gaza has killed dozens of people and threatens to shut down three hospitals over a year into the war with Hamas, Palestinian officials and residents said on Wednesday.

Heavy fighting was underway in Jabaliya, where Israeli forces have carried out several major operations. The entire north, including Gaza City, has suffered heavy destruction and has been largely isolated by Israeli forces since late last year.

Residents of Jabaliya, an urban refugee camp dating back to the 1948 war surrounding Israel's creation, said thousands of people have been trapped in their homes since the operation began on Sunday, as Israeli jets and drones buzz overhead and troops battle militants in the streets.

"It’s like hell. We can’t get out,” said Mohamed Awda, who lives with his parents and six siblings. He said there were three bodies in the street outside his home that could not be retrieved because of the fighting.

"The quadcopters are everywhere, and they fire at anyone. You can’t even open the window,” he told The Associated Press by phone, speaking over the sound of explosions.

A Palestinian man carries the body of a child who was killed in an Israeli strike in Deir Al-Balah, Gaza. Reuters

An airstrike in Jabaliya early on Wednesday killed at least nine people, including two women and two children, according to Al-Ahly Hospital, which received the bodies. Strikes in central Gaza killed another nine people, including three children, according to Al Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir Al Balah.

Kamal Adwan hospital director Dr Hossam Abu Safiya, said an Israeli strike on tents sheltering displaced Palestinians near the Yemen Saeed hospital in Jabaliya had killed at least 16 people and wounded another 17. The casualties were taken to the Kamal Adwan hospital.

A boy mourns near the body of his father and other Palestinians in Deir Al-Balah, Gaza, on Wednesday. Reuters

Jabaliya residents fear Israel aims to depopulate the north and turn it into a closed military zone or a Jewish settlement. Israel has blocked all roads except for the main highway leading south from Jabaliya, according to residents.

The UN agency for Palestinian refugees said it was evacuating seven schools being used as shelters and that only two of eight water wells in the camp are still functioning.

"We are concerned about the displacement to the south,” Ahmed Qamar, who lives in Jabaliya with his wife, children and parents, said in a text message. "People here say clearly that they will die here in northern Gaza and and won’t go to southern Gaza.”

Fadel Naeem, the director of Al Ahly Hospital in Gaza City, said it had received dozens of wounded people and bodies from the north. "We declared a state of emergency, suspended scheduled surgeries, and discharged patients whose conditions are stable," he told AP in a text message.

Israel’s offensive has gutted Gaza’s health sector, forcing most of its hospitals to shut down and leaving the rest only partially functioning.

Naeem said three hospitals farther north - Kamal Adwan, Awda and the Indonesian Hospital - have become almost inaccessible because of the fighting. The Gaza Health Ministry says the Israeli army has ordered all three to evacuate staff and patients. Meanwhile, no humanitarian aid has entered the north since Oct.1, according to UN data.

The Israeli military did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the hospitals or the apparent suspension of aid delivery in the north.

Associated Press