At least 17 Palestinians were killed as a result of Israel’s New Year attacks in Gaza.
According to the official Palestinian news agency WAFA, at least 17 Palestinians were killed as a result of the attacks of the Israeli air force on the Al-Burayj refugee camp in the center of Gaza and the town of Jabalia in the north on Wednesday.
Israel’s military had no immediate comment, although its Arab spokesman in X warned residents of al-Burayj to evacuate the area ahead of an imminent strike against rocket-firing militants.
He also said he killed Abd al-Hadi Sabah, a Hamas militant who helped infiltrate Kibbutz Nir Oz on the night of October 7, 2023, during the Islamist group’s attack on southern Israel.
The order to clear the al-Burayj camp has led to a new wave of displacement, although it is unclear how many people have been affected.
WAFA said the military bombed residential areas in and around Beit Lahiya, Jabaliya, while tanks shelled parts of Gaza City and al-Burayj camp.
Israel says its nearly three-month-old campaign in northern Gaza is aimed at preventing the regrouping of Hamas militants. The military says evacuation orders for civilians are meant to keep them out of harm’s way.
Palestinian and UN officials say nowhere in Gaza is safe and the evacuations are worsening the humanitarian situation.
According to the Palestinian Civil Defense, over the past two days, more than 1,500 tents sheltering internally displaced persons in Gaza have been flooded due to torrential rains, people have been exposed to cold and their belongings have been damaged.
Hundreds of other tents were hit by less severe flooding, leaving displaced people still unable to use them.
Much of the area around the northern towns of Beit Hanoun, Jabaliya and Beit Lahiya has been cleared of people and razed to the ground, fueling speculation that Israel intends to keep the area as a closed buffer zone after the fighting in Gaza ends.
There is no end in sight
According to Palestinian health officials, Israel’s Gaza campaign has killed more than 45,500 Palestinians. Most of Gaza’s 2.3 million people have been displaced, and much of the small coastal strip is in ruins.
On October 7, 2023, 1,200 people were killed and another 251 people were taken hostage as a result of the Hamas attack on Israel.
Israel’s military says it only targets militants and blames Hamas for civilian deaths as its fighters operate in densely populated areas. The army claims to have killed 17,000 militants without providing evidence.
The World Health Organization (WHO) said that Israel raided a major hospital in Gaza on Friday. Kamal Advan Hospital was the last operating hospital in northern Gaza, and WHO spokeswoman Margaret Harris said it was an “important” lifeline for local Palestinians.
The war has caused widespread destruction and displaced nearly 90 percent of Gaza’s 2.3 million people, many of them repeatedly.
Hundreds of thousands of people live in tents on the coast due to frequent winter storms and temperatures dropping below 10 degrees at night. At least six babies and one other person died of hypothermia, according to the Ministry of Health.
American and Arab mediators spent nearly a year trying to broker a ceasefire and the release of the hostages, but those efforts repeatedly stalled.
Hamas has demanded a permanent ceasefire, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to continue fighting until “total victory” over the militants.
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