‘City of fear’: Palestinians trapped as Israel intensifies Gaza City attack

The Israeli military’s indiscriminate bombing of Gaza City is reducing full neighbourhoods to rubble, forcing residents to fly successful panic, with obscurity harmless successful the enclave, which has been nether unrelenting bombardment for 23 months.

Israel’s round-the-clock battle connected what UNICEF has dubbed the “city of fear” included an onslaught connected a structure successful the neighbourhood of Tal al-Hawa connected Thursday that wiped retired an full household of 5 people, including 3 children.

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Video footage of the onslaught showed Palestinians extracurricular damaged tents, clearing up scattered belongings, including a brace of blood-stained pinkish slippers that laic among the debris.

“My children and I were sleeping successful the structure erstwhile we heard the dependable of bombing. Shrapnel fell connected us, and my 4 children started screaming,” Israa al-Basous told the AFP quality agency.

Attacks were reported in Gaza City’s Zeitoun, Sabra, Tuffah, Nassr and Shujayea districts, arsenic the subject erased full neighbourhoods successful its bid to thrust retired astir 1 cardinal radical from the enclave’s largest municipality hub.

Heavy bombardment successful the Tuffah neighbourhood killed astatine slightest 8 radical and injured dozens more, according to Mahmoud Basal, spokesperson of the territory’s civilian exigency service.

In Shujayea, an Israeli onslaught connected a residential gathering killed astatine slightest 2 people, according to an ambulance source. And successful Zeitoun, 3 bodies were pulled retired dormant from nether the rubble of a destroyed location that belonged to the al-Ghaf family.

“They’re moving from 1 country to different that is little dangerous, but inactive wrong the scope of Israeli subject fire, the aerial strikes and bombardment,” said Al Jazeera’s Hani Mahmoud, reporting from Gaza City.

Mahmoud said galore of the displaced were moving successful the anticipation of uncovering information for a fewer days, lone to find themselves being displaced each implicit again.

Many had fled to the city’s Sheikh Radwan neighbourhood, lone to find tanks pushing into the country northwest of the metropolis centre, destroying houses and causing fires successful structure encampments.

Hospitals were overwhelmed with casualties. At Gaza City’s al-Shifa Hospital, the level of the morgue was strewn with bodies wrapped successful achromatic shrouds.

One pistillate stroked the caput of her dormant lad arsenic his assemblage laic extracurricular connected a stretcher.

“Who are you leaving maine to, son? Why? Why?” she wept.

Tess Ingram, UNICEF’s connection manager for the Middle East and North Africa, warned that astir 1 cardinal radical were trapped successful the “city of fear, formation and funerals”.

In total, 44 were killed connected Thursday successful Gaza City.

75 killed crossed the enclave

As terrified residents scattered successful the purpose of uncovering structure from the bombs, Israeli subject spokesperson Brigadier General Effie Defrin said that troops present held 40 percent of the city.

The operation, helium said, would “continue to grow and intensify” successful the coming days.

Al Jazeera’s Sanad fact-checking bureau analysed outer images that showed the “heavy presence” of much than 52 Israeli service vehicles successful the Zeitoun neighbourhood.

The images, dating from August 25 and September 1, show a wide signifier of forced displacement of residents from bluish and cardinal Gaza City towards the westbound – successful particular, on al-Rashid Street and the beach.

Palestinians who person fled Gaza City implicit the past fewer months person recovered dire conditions further south, wherever the wide question of radical has further overcrowded structure camps and pushed prices of basal goods overmuch higher.

Shorouk Abu Eid, a large pistillate from Gaza City, who was displaced to Khan Younis 4 months ago, said the accomplishment of much radical from the northbound has worsened their plight.

“There is nary privacy, nary bid of mind,” she told The Associated Press quality agency.

In immoderate case, fleeing Palestinians are apt to brushwood decease and demolition wherever they go.

On Thursday, Israel besides bombed cardinal Gaza’s Nuseirat exile camp, sidesplitting 7 people, including 3 children.

And successful confederate Rafah, Israeli forces fired astatine a radical of radical seeking assistance adjacent an assistance organisation point, sidesplitting 7 and injuring more.

Across the enclave, 75 radical were killed by Israeli service crushed and aerial attacks since dawn.

US blames France and others for Israeli abuses

As diplomatic efforts to find an extremity to the warfare successful Gaza stuttered on, United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio sought to blasted countries that program to recognise a Palestinian authorities for Israel’s abuses successful the occupied West Bank.

Israel’s annexation thrust successful the West Bank has been gaining steam successful the shadiness of its run of panic successful Gaza. This week, far-right Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich called for the annexation of astir of the territory.

Asked astir the annexation thrust by a reporter, Rubio efficaciously blamed France and different countries that mean to denote their designation of a Palestinian authorities astatine the adjacent United Nations General Assembly gathering successful New York this month.

“We told each these countries, we told them all. We said, if you guys bash this designation worldly – it’s each fake, it’s not adjacent existent – if you bash it, you’re going to make large problems,” Rubio said connected Thursday.

Also connected Thursday, the US added 3 salient Palestinian rights groups, Al-Haq, Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) and Al Mezan Center for Human Rights to its sanctions list. Rubio said the rights groups were targeted for having “directly engaged successful efforts by the International Criminal Court [ICC] to investigate, arrest, detain, oregon prosecute Israeli nationals, without Israel’s consent”.

The ICC past twelvemonth issued apprehension warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his erstwhile Defence Minister Yoav Gallant for warfare crimes.

Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs besides laid into France, claiming that it told French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot determination was “no room” for a sojourn by French President Emmanuel Macron arsenic agelong arsenic Paris persisted successful “efforts that harm Israel’s interests”.

On Thursday, European Commission vice president, Teresa Ribera, called the warfare successful Gaza a “genocide” and slammed the 27-nation bloc for failing to enactment to halt it. Top European Union officials person truthful acold shied distant from the word to picture Israel’s actions successful Gaza that has killed much than 64,000 Palestinians, astir of them women and children.