Israel ‘wiping out Jabalia’, killing hundreds of people in north Gaza

Israeli forces widened their brutal military offensive on north Gaza early on Sunday, after killing 300 people over nine days in a ramped-up ground offensive targeting the Jabalia refugee camp.

Israeli tanks made their way to the north edge of Gaza City, while airstrikes from above continued.

Residents on the ground say they have been isolated from the rest of Gaza, with Israeli forces not allowing anyone to enter or exit the north.

In addition to the Jabalia camp, Israeli soldiers have also isolated Beit Hanoun and Beit Lahia in the far north of the Gaza Strip.

According to local media reports, there are no longer any functioning hospitals in the north of the Gaza Strip.

Israel continues to bombard civilian infrastructure and displacement shelters with no warning.

Around 22 people were killed on Saturday, with the UN estimating that around 400,000 people have now been trapped by this latest ground offensive and artillery fire.

Many Jabalia residents are posting about the dire situation on social media with one saying, "we will not leave, we die and we don’t leave."

Nasser, a resident of Beit Lahia in northern Gaza, said: “As the world is focused on Lebanon and possible Israeli strike against Iran, Israel is wiping out Jabalia.

"The occupation is blowing up roads and destroying residential districts. People also don’t find anything to eat. They are trapped inside their homes, fearing bombs could fall onto their heads."

Many civilians have also been trapped under the rubble, while the Palestinian Red Crescent announced on Saturday that no more ambulances in the north are working due to fuel running out.

'Unspeakable cruelty and sadism'

The UN special rapporteur for the occupied Palestinian territory denounced the attacks on the north as "another massacre".

Francesca Albanese said Palestinians in Jabalia "are killed – both in groups and one by one – amid unspeakable cruelty and sadism" by Israeli troops "who have accepted to be ‘willing executioners’ of a genocidal plan".

The Israeli attacks are being conducted with western weapons, Albanese continued.

"It blows my mind to think that WE KNOW what Israel is doing and altogether we cannot stop it. Looking at where we were 100 years ago, no much progress has been achieved," she wrote in a post on X.

While the main assault is on the north, Israel is also striking other areas across the Gaza Strip. The health ministry reported at least 11 people killed by late morning on Sunday, including at least six killed in a house in Bureij camp in the central Gaza Strip, south of Gaza City.

Palestinian and United Nations officials say there are no safe areas in Gaza. They have also voiced concerns over severe shortages of food, fuel, and medical supplies in northern Gaza, and said there is a risk of famine there.

Seven World Health Organisation (WHO) missions have also been blocked by Israel from reaching the north in recent days, the UN said.

The World Food Programme, the UN food agency, reported that no food aid has reached northern Gaza since 1 October.

Meanwhile, Israel has continued its bombardment of the rest of Gaza and on Lebanon, with the death toll mounting daily.

Israel’s war on Gaza has killed at least 42,227 Palestinians in Gaza and wounded over 98,464 others.