Jabalia in northern Gaza ‘is being wiped out’ as Israeli tanks push deeper
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A convoy of Israeli tanks heads to Jabalia, in northern Gaza, where the Israeli military claims Hamas is trying to regroup.
PHOTO: EPA-EFE
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CAIRO – Israel sent tanks deeper into Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip on Oct 8 and once more ordered an evacuation as it pounded the historic Palestinian refugee camp from the air.
Palestinian medics said casualties had been reported in Jabalia, but that they were unable to reach areas under fire
Israel’s army has said its forces are trying to stop the militant group Hamas from staging attacks from Jabalia and regrouping there.
“Jabalia is being wiped out”, was repeated in many messages posted on social media to Gaza residents.
Palestinian health officials did not immediately provide new casualty figures but said dozens had been killed in Gaza in the past 24 hours.
Israel’s military said a soldier was killed in combat in northern Gaza.
The Israeli army issued new evacuation orders to those living in and have evacuated to Jabalia and nearby Beit Hanoun and Beit Lahiya, telling them to head to a humanitarian-designated zone in Al-Mawasi in southern Gaza.
Palestinian and UN officials say there are no completely safe places in Gaza.
“Jabalia is being bombed as if the war has just begun and the world is blind about it,” said Salah, 60, a father of five who is a resident of Gaza City.
“We live at least 7km away, but the sounds of Israeli air strikes and tank shelling deprive us of sleep. The world must stop Israeli crimes,” he said via a chat app.
Palestinians flee areas in northern Gaza that the Israeli military has been pummeling as it battles remnants of the militant group Hamas.
PHOTO: REUTERS
The armed wings of Hamas and the Islamic Jihad said fighters attacked Israeli forces in the north with anti-tank rockets, and that there were casualties among Israeli troops.
The Israeli military said it killed several Palestinian militants, located weapons, and dismantled military infrastructure in its operations in Jabalia.
Israeli forces have been pummelling Gaza, reducing most of the enclave to rubble, after Hamas on Oct 7, 2023, raided border towns in southern Israel
Israel’s offensive in Gaza, meanwhile, has killed nearly 42,000 Palestinians. Most of the enclave’s population of 2.3 million have been displaced, and humanitarian conditions there have deteriorated sharply. REUTERS
