Israel has continued its military advance across Gaza, with fierce urban firefights between Israeli forces and Palestinian armed groups taking place from the Jabalia camp in the north to the southern city of Rafah, which borders Egypt.
In the now largely destroyed northern district of Jabalia, residents said Israeli tanks had destroyed clusters of houses but were facing stiff resistance on Wednesday from fighters from the Palestinian group Hamas, which rules Gaza, and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad armed group. (JIP).
“They are bombing houses on top of their inhabitants,” Abu Jehad said.
The Palestinian Islamic Jihad claimed to have killed some Israeli soldiers in Jabalia, while the Israeli army said it eliminated many fighters in the area.
Israel sent troops back to areas of northern Gaza earlier this week after claiming it had defeated Hamas there months ago.
The Israeli military ordered further evacuations from the al-Manshiya and Sheikh Zayyed neighborhoods in northern Gaza. The United Nations estimated that some 100,000 people have been forcibly removed from the north in recent days.
In Gaza City, several people were killed after Israeli forces attacked a group of Palestinians at the intersection of Jalaa and al-Oyoun streets, the official Palestinian news agency Wafa reported.
At least three bodies arrived at al-Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza City, as well as several critical cases, Wafa said.
The death toll from this attack, which targeted an internet access gathering point, is expected to rise, according to Al Jazeera's Hani Mahmoud.
“This is not the first time we have seen this pattern of attacks against civilians gathered in large groups, whether at food distribution or internet connection points, or even at solar-powered points to charge their phones or computers.” Mahmoud said.
Palestinian health officials said at least 82 Palestinians died in the previous 24 hours.
'Vengeful' attacks
Hamas condemned the attacks against civilians throughout the Strip, saying they are “fascist and vengeful” acts that reflect the state of “defeat” of the Israeli army.
In Rafah, Israeli tanks have massed around the eastern edges of Rafah and, in recent days, have been probing built-up areas of the city, where hundreds of thousands of displaced people have sought refuge from shelling elsewhere in Gaza. .
Residents said Israeli forces had entered three neighborhoods and that Palestinian fighters were trying to prevent soldiers and tanks from advancing toward the center.
Aid groups, including the International Rescue Committee (IRC), have warned that they face major disruptions to their humanitarian operations as the Israeli army advances towards the city to carry out its widely criticized ground offensive.
“I recently returned from Gaza, where the magnitude of the crisis defies imagination. Facilities across southern Gaza have been repurposed as makeshift shelters overflowing into the streets,” said Kiryn Lanning, IRC team leader for the Occupied Palestinian Territory.
“This displaced population is now facing severe shortages of basic needs such as food, water and adequate sanitation,” Lanning added.
Last week, after the Israeli army seized and closed the Palestinian side of the Rafah border crossing between the Gaza Strip and Egypt – a vital entry point for humanitarian aid – the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA warned that hospitals in southern Gaza had only days of fuel left to carry out their operations, and that the entry of fuel into the Strip was essential to prevent further deaths.
Sporadic aid deliveries to Gaza by truck have slowed to a minimum since Israeli forces took control of the Gaza side of the crossing on May 7.
A convoy carrying humanitarian aid items was looted on Monday by far-right Israelis after crossing from Jordan through the occupied West Bank.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has stated that there is no “humanitarian catastrophe” in Rafah, where some 450,000 people have been expelled from their places of refuge since last week, according to the UN.
As fighting intensifies, ceasefire talks brokered by Qatar and Egypt have reached an impasse, with Hamas demanding a permanent end to the attacks and Netanyahu's government saying it will not stop until the group is annihilated.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken urged Israel to come up with a clear plan for Gaza's post-war future.
Netanyahu has opposed the creation of an independent Palestinian state, which most foreign powers see as the only long-term solution.
He said any move to establish an alternative to Hamas as Gaza's government required the Palestinian group to first be eliminated, and demanded that this goal be pursued “without excuses.”
His comments, in a video statement posted online, followed a public challenge by Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, who accused the government of having avoided serious discussion about a proposal for a post-war Palestinian administration other than Hamas. .
Hamas head Ismail Haniyeh has reiterated that the group rejects any post-war agreement that does not include Hamas.
“We are here to stay,” Haniyeh said in a statement late Wednesday, adding that the group is sticking to its demands for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza.
