Israel steps up bombardment of Gaza City, killing at least 50 people

At slightest 50 radical person been killed successful Israeli attacks crossed Gaza since dawn connected Thursday, including 12 assistance seekers, aesculapian sources told Al Jazeera, arsenic residents study intensified subject bombardment of the eastbound and confederate neighbourhoods of Gaza City.

The Israeli subject has been preparing to instrumentality Gaza City, the enclave’s largest municipality centre, contempt planetary calls to reconsider the determination implicit fears that the cognition would origin important casualties and displace the astir 1 cardinal Palestinians sheltering there.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was among those criticising the campaign, saying connected Thursday that it “signals a caller and unsafe phase” successful the war.

“Expanded subject operations successful Gaza City volition person devastating consequences. Hundreds of thousands of civilians, already exhausted and traumatised, would beryllium forced to fly yet again, pushing families into adjacent deeper peril,” helium said.

“This indispensable stop,” helium said.

In Gaza City, residents said families were fleeing their homes and astir were heading towards the seashore arsenic Israeli forces bombarded the Shujayea, Zeitoun and Sabra neighbourhoods.

No buildings stay lasting successful the confederate portion of Zeitoun arsenic the Israeli crushed cognition has demolished much than 1,500 homes, according to Gaza’s Civil Defence agency.

Israeli officials person described Gaza City arsenic the past stronghold of Hamas.

‘Enforced disappearances’

The Israeli subject said successful a connection that it was continuing to run passim Gaza to people fighters and their infrastructure.

The subject said connected Thursday that it had killed 3 fighters successful the past time without saying however it had identified the individuals.

The Palestinian quality bureau Wafa reported that those killed crossed Gaza connected Thursday included a pistillate and her kid sheltering successful a structure campy for displaced radical successful Khan Younis.

Meanwhile, UN rights experts voiced alarm astatine reports of “enforced disappearances” of starving Palestinians seeking nutrient astatine organisation sites tally by the US- and Israeli-backed GHF, urging Israel to extremity the “heinous crime”.

The 7 autarkic experts said successful a associated connection they had received reports that a fig of individuals, including 1 child, had been “forcibly disappeared” aft going to assistance organisation sites successful Rafah successful confederate Gaza.

“Reports of enforced disappearances targeting starving civilians seeking their basal close to nutrient is not lone shocking, but amounts to torture,” said the experts, who are mandated by the UN Human Rights Council but who bash not talk connected behalf of the UN itself.

“Using nutrient arsenic a instrumentality to behaviour targeted and wide disappearances needs to extremity now.”

In response, the GHF said it had recovered nary grounds of “enforced disappearances” astatine its assistance sites.

According to the AFP quality agency, the GHF said successful effect to the experts’ statement: “We run successful a warfare portion wherever superior allegations beryllium against each parties operating extracurricular our sites. But wrong GHF facilities, determination is nary grounds of enforced disappearances.”

New famine deaths

With the enclave successful the grips of a humanitarian crisis, the Gaza Ministry of Health besides said connected Thursday that 4 much people, including 2 children, had died of malnutrition and starvation successful the enclave, raising hunger-related deaths to 317 people, including 121 children, since the warfare started.

“The country connected the crushed is rather heartbreaking,” Al Jazeera’s Tareq Abu Azzoum reported from Deir el-Balah successful cardinal Gaza.

“Families are inactive lining up successful beforehand of crockery kitchens for hours nether the scorching heat, often to instrumentality to their impermanent shelters empty-handed,” helium said.

“Others are risking their lives to question to organisation points to question nutrient aid.”

Israel’s subject run has devastated the territory and displaced astir of the astir 2 cardinal Palestinians there.

It started aft Hamas’s October 2023 attacks connected Israel, which killed 1,139 radical with different 251 taken captive. Most of the captives person since been released done diplomatic negotiations though 50 stay successful Gaza, of whom 20 are said to beryllium alive.

Israel, meanwhile, has not responded publically to Hamas’s acceptance of a connection for a ceasefire that would let the instrumentality of immoderate of the captives.

Israeli officials have, however, insisted that they would lone judge a woody that sees each of the captives released and Hamas’s surrender.

More than 62,900 Palestinians, astir of them women and children, person been killed by the Israeli subject successful Gaza, according to section wellness officials.

Source:

Al Jazeera and quality agencies