THE Palestinian Red Crescent Society said its medics are receiving dozens of urgent pleas to evacuate casualties but are unable to respond because of the Israeli ground invasion of Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip.
‘Soldiers are firing at anyone who moves in the Be’er al-Na’ja area, west of Jabalia in northern Gaza,’ the rescue organisation said.
A large-scale Israeli operation in northern Gaza has killed and wounded dozens of people and threatens to shut down three hospitals.
An air strike early on Wednesday killed at least nine people, including two women and two children in Jabalia, while at least 20 people, including three children, were killed across Gaza overnight with the death toll rising to 43 by mid afternoon.
Nearly half were killed in the northern Jabalia refugee camp where the Israeli army is leading a ground assault for a fifth consecutive day.
There are about 400,000 people trapped in the north of the Strip, the UN says, as families refuse to leave for the south, or have no way to move after the Israeli army issued new evacuation orders.
Hospitals in northern Gaza were told by the Israeli army to flee in the last 24 hours and not remain operational because of the expansion of military operations in the Jabalia refugee camp.
Medical teams are leaving the hospitals and a very limited number of medics are left behind with the remaining patients as there has been no sort of international rescue intervention to help evacuate them.
These evacuation orders were given to residents of Jabalia, Beit Hanoon and Beit Lahiya – the three main towns in northern Gaza.
Families are trying to avoid going to the south … they have taken the decision as they have nowhere else to go and they are aware bombing takes place there, too.
Jabalia refugee camp is surrounded by the Israeli army, bodies have been left in the narrow streets around it and those who try to flee have been shot by snipers.
- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called Israel a ‘Zionist terrorist organisation’ over its attacks on Gaza and Lebanon, and repeated his criticism of Western powers – namely the United States – over the support given to Israel.
‘History will never forgive those who applaud the monster responsible for the blood of tens of thousands of Palestinian children, women, civilians,’ said Turkey’s leader.
