A large-scale Israeli operation in northern Gaza has killed dozens of people and threatened to shut down three hospitals, according to Palestinian officials and residents. Heavy fighting is ongoing in Jabaliya, where Israeli forces have carried out several major operations over the course of the war and then returned as militants regrouped. The entire north, including Gaza City, has suffered heavy destruction and has been largely isolated by Israeli forces since late last year.
The continuing cycle of destruction and death in Gaza, unleashed by Hamas’ October 7 attack on southern Israel last year, comes as Israel expands a week-long ground offensive against Hezbollah in Lebanon and considers a major retaliatory strike on Iran. The Palestinian death toll in Gaza has passed 42,000, authorities said.
Residents of Jabaliya 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. The Gaza health ministry said it recovered 40 bodies from Jabaliya from Sunday until Tuesday, and another 14 from communities farther north. There are likely more bodies under rubble and in areas that cannot be accessed, it said.
An air strike 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.
Fears Mount as Gaza Hospitals Face Collapse (Image via Getty)
The situation is dire, with Gaza’s health sector gutted by Israel’s offensive, forcing most of its hospitals to shut down and leaving the rest only partially functioning. Fadel Naeem, the director of Al-Ahly Hospital in Gaza City, said the hospital has received dozens of wounded people and bodies from the north, and has declared a state of emergency, suspended scheduled surgeries, and discharged patients whose conditions are stable.
The Israeli military has ordered the evacuation of three hospitals farther north – Kamal Adwan, Awda, and the Indonesian Hospital – and no humanitarian aid has entered the north since October 1, according to UN data. Residents fear Israel’s aim is to depopulate the north and turn it into a closed military zone or a Jewish settlement.
The situation is becoming increasingly desperate, with children living in unimaginable fear and trauma, and the UN agency for Palestinian refugees evacuating seven schools that were being used as shelters. The agency said only two of eight water wells in the camp are still functioning, and residents are forced to rely on limited and unreliable water supplies. The situation is dire, and a ceasefire is urgently needed to bring relief to the people of Gaza.
