Israel intensified its shelling of northern Gaza and closed roads, preventing the delivery of aid, the war-torn Palestinian territory’s civil defence agency said Wednesday 9 October. News is just breaking of the IDF bombing a hospital courtyard in Jabalia, killing 16 people. Sadly, stories like this fail to make headlines, anymore – as they have become so commonplace.
Israel: targetting refugees in Jabalia once again
The Israel army, which said it surrounded Jabalia in northern Gaza at the weekend, issued new evacuation demands on Tuesday 8 October.
“The shelling is intensifying, targeting civilians and their homes, causing significant fear and terror among the residents,” said Ahmad al-Kahlut, the agency’s director in north Gaza.
The director said the Israeli army also was targeting the northern towns of Beit Lahia and Beit Hanun along with Jabalia.
“Roads have been closed, and there has been a continuous siege for the fourth consecutive day, with no supplies entering the North Gaza Governorate,” Kahlut said.
According to the director, “a large number” of people died in northern Gaza during the fighting.
But he said counting the casualties had been complicated by the “difficulty of recovery and access to all areas”.
As the Canary went to press, news emerged of another potential Israeli war crime. The Palestinian Red Crescent said its teams had transported 16 dead from the Yemen Al-Saeed Hospital in Jabalia, where displaced Gazans had sought shelter:
In the latest toll, 16 Palestinians have been reported killed and several others injured following the Israeli airstrike that targeted tents of displaced civilians in Yemen Al-Saeed Hospital in Jabalia refugee camp. pic.twitter.com/6mROFnynYe
— Quds News Network (@QudsNen) October 9, 2024
مجزرة في مستشفى اليمن السعيد بمخيم جباليا بعد قصف خيام النازحيين pic.twitter.com/sOJUwfvnUL
— أنس الشريف Anas Al-Sharif (@AnasAlSharif0) October 9, 2024
Barely any hospitals operational
The civil defence’s Kahlut said his agency had been receiving calls for help from various parts of northern Gaza, but staff had been unable to enter these areas for security reasons.
“So far, Kamal Adwan Hospital is still operational and is dealing with the injuries that the teams can recover,” he said, referring to a hospital in Beit Lahia.
Hisham Abu Aoun, head of the intensive care unit for the Friends of the Patient Hospital, said at least six children were evacuated to his hospital in Gaza City.
Amal Nasr, a resident of Jabalia, said her daughter Dana and husband Rami were both injured by gunfire while fleeing the area.
“My daughter Dana was shot in the neck, and my husband was shot in his leg by the occupation forces”, she said, adding her daughter was taken to a Gaza City hospital and was now in stable condition.
“I was injured while we were leaving our house. I was shot in the neck and started to bleed”, Dana Nasr told AFP from the Al-Ahli Hospital. “There were many injured people in the streets of Jabalia,” she added.
Gaza’s hospitals are struggling with limited supplies.
The health ministry appealed Tuesday for international help, warning fuel shortages could force hospitals to close. The UN’s agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, said “intensified military operations” in northern Gaza forced it to halt services. This included the evacuation of seven UNRWA schools used as shelters by displaced Gazans.
Featured image via the Canary
Additional reporting via Agence France-Presse
