Israel continues 'genocidal' siege of northern Gaza

Israeli military forces continued their siege of the northern Gaza Strip on Tuesday, attacking hospitals and shelters for displaced people.

Israel has stepped up its indiscriminate assault in the past week focusing particularly on Jabalia and Beit Lahiya and preventing critical aid from reaching thousands of trapped civilians.

Soldiers rounded up men and ordered women to leave the Jabalia refugee camp, residents said, while, on Tuesday, at least 15 people were killed in Beit Lahiya, with women and children among the dead, according to the Palestinian news agency Wafa.

The UN Palestinian refugee agency UNRWA said Israeli authorities were preventing humanitarian missions from reaching areas in the north of the Palestinian enclave with critical supplies, including medicine and food.

"People attempting to flee are getting killed, their bodies left on the street," UNRWA head Philippe Lazzarini said on X.

Medics at the Indonesian Hospital told the Reuters news agency that Israeli troops stormed a school and detained the men before setting it ablaze. The fire reached hospital generators and caused a power outage, they added.

Health officials said they had refused orders by the Israeli army, which started a new ground invasion of the territory's north over two weeks ago, to evacuate the three hospitals in the area or leave the patients unattended.

Later on Monday, Hussam Abu Safiya, director of Kamal Adwan Hospital said at least two critically wounded patients at the facility's intensive care unit died because of the lack of medical supplies.

"The hospital's blood units have run out completely... We are implementing a priority treatment method for patients. This is the reality," said Abu Safiya in a video message to media outlets.

On Tuesday, Dr. Marwan Sultan, director of Beit Lahiya’s Indonesian Hospital, expressed concern that more patients could die due to Israeli actions targeting the hospital.

“The Israeli occupation army prevents the entry of fuel and medical supplies to the Indonesian Hospital and cuts off electricity to staff and patients,” he told Al Jazeera. “The Israeli occupation army is still besieging the hospital, and dozens of patients may die.”

He also highlighted that Israel was blocking medical workers from assisting wounded Palestinians.

“Dozens of killed and wounded in the streets, and no one can rescue them due to the siege imposed on the hospitals in the north.”

Tens of thousands of people are estimated to have fled the assault on northern Gaza, and according to the UN agency for Palestinian refugees around 400,000 people have been trapped in the area since last week.

The UN has also warned of the risk of famine in Gaza, its figures showing that 396 aid trucks have entered the territory so far this month – far below the 3,003 seen in September.

Israel has killed at least 640 Palestinians in north Gaza since it began its siege of the area just over two weeks ago, with more dying on Monday and Tuesday.

“Genocide is unfolding in northern Gaza in its clearest form, in full view of the world,” the Palestinian Authority’s Foreign Ministry warned in a statement on Sunday.

Agencies contributed to this report