Israeli forces have carried out continuous airstrikes on different areas of the Gaza Strip, leading to more casualties among the Palestinians. The western areas of Gaza City and Khan Yunis witnessed clashes between Palestinian resistance factions and the invading Israeli army.
According to Al Jazeera’s correspondent, Israeli airstrikes targeted a residential apartment in the northwestern part of Khan Yunis, resulting in the deaths of six people and several injuries.
The Israeli occupation forces heavily bombarded the western neighborhoods of Gaza City and launched dozens of smoke bombs in the vicinity of the areas of An-Nasr, Ash-Shifa, and As-Saraya west of the city. Furthermore, they arrested tens of Palestinians in the vicinity of the university area.
Palestinian media reports indicated that Israeli warplanes carried out intense air raids on various areas in the northern Gaza Strip and the eastern areas of Khan Yunis in the south of the Strip. A Palestinian medical source reported that medical teams and civilians have been recovering the bodies of Palestinians from the streets and houses in Khan Yunis and the central areas of the Strip.
Witness accounts stated that it is difficult for civilians and ambulances to reach the locations of the victims due to the targeting of anyone moving in the streets by Israeli snipers positioned in residential buildings, in addition to the live ammunition fired from the airplanes.
Furthermore, the Israeli army fired upon a gathering of Palestinians who were waiting for the arrival of aid supplies east of the Az-Zaitoun neighborhood in the south of Gaza City, resulting in several injuries.
Since January 22, the Israeli occupation army has been conducting intensive airstrikes on Khan Yunis and its surroundings, with incursions of its vehicles into the southern and western areas of the city. Consequently, thousands of Palestinians have been forced to evacuate to the southernmost parts of the Strip once again.
The Ministry of Health in Gaza reported that the Israeli occupation forces committed 12 massacres, resulting in 107 martyrs and 143 injuries in the past 24 hours. The number of casualties of the Israeli aggression on the Strip has risen to 27,585 fatalities and 66,978 injuries since October 7 last year.
Hunger and Displacement
On Monday, the Palestinian Red Crescent Society announced the evacuation of around 8,000 displaced people from Al-Amal Hospital and the Society’s headquarters in Khan Yunis, heading towards the city of Rafah after being besieged by the Israeli occupation forces for two weeks.
The Red Crescent mentioned that only 40 elderly displaced people and around 80 patients, injured individuals, and 100 administrative and medical staff remained at Al-Amal Hospital. Currently, Rafah is hosting more than half the population of Gaza displaced by the Israeli war, with the refugees living in harsh humanitarian conditions in camps that lack the most basic life necessities. A video segment released by Palestinian media showed pools of sewage surrounded by the tents of Palestinian refugees in Rafah city, south of the Strip.
Meanwhile, UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric stated that Israel continues to hinder the arrival of most aid to the northern part of the Gaza Strip. Dujarric also mentioned that out of 61 aid missions scheduled for January, only 10 reached the northern part of Gaza. He added that aid missions to hospitals and health institutions are often prevented.
Media reports indicate that residents in the northern Gaza Strip are dying of starvation and are trying to provide for their children by utilizing whatever animal fodder remains with them. The Israeli forces have been using hunger as a weapon since the beginning of the war on Gaza by cutting off electricity and water supplies and confiscating most of the agricultural lands. Furthermore, the Israeli forces have targeted markets, bakeries, and humanitarian aid convoys while imposing strict restrictions on the entry of all trucks carrying food supplies to the people of the Gaza Strip.
Clashes
Reportedly, intense clashes have erupted between Palestinian resistance groups and Israeli occupation forces, alongside aerial bombardments and artillery shelling in the western neighborhoods of Gaza City. Loud explosions and sporadic gunfire were heard in the western and southern areas of Gaza City, according to eyewitnesses.
The Al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, announced the destruction of an Israeli D9 bulldozer with an explosive device west of Khan Yunis in the southern part of the Gaza Strip.
Likewise, the Al-Quds Brigades, the military wing of the Islamic Jihad movement, declared engaging in fierce clashes with the occupation soldiers and their vehicles using machine guns and shells in the central, western, and southern parts of Khan Yunis.
Three days ago, fierce clashes resumed in Gaza City and northern areas of the Strip concurrently with the ongoing battles in Khan Yunis in the south.
The Israeli army reported that it killed dozens of Palestinian militants and apprehended dozens in operations across the Gaza Strip in the past 24 hours, describing Khan Yunis in the south as the “current axis of fighting”. Around 80 suspects were reportedly arrested in Khan Yunis, including some accused of participating in the attack by the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) on October 7 last year.
