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Palestinian medics said on Monday that at least 10 people were killed and 30 wounded by Israeli tank shells that hit a food distribution center in Jabalia in northern Gaza, killing including women and children.
The Israeli military said it is investigating the report. Medics said an Israeli drone opened fire where dozens of residents had gathered to receive food.
Jabalia has been the focus of an Israeli military offensive for about ten days. The army completed its encirclement of the historic refugee camp and has sent tanks to the nearby towns of Beit Lahiya and Beit Hanoun, aiming to wipe out Hamas fighters trying to regroup there.
The northern part of Gaza, where more than half of the territory’s 2.3 million residents live, was heavily bombed during the first phase of Israel’s assault on the area, which began a year ago.
Hundreds of thousands of northern Gaza residents left their homes in the early months of the war, driven by Israeli evacuation orders and a military ground offensive in their area, while the United Nations estimates about 400,000 people remained behind.
Hamas says bombings prevent aid from accessing
But months after intense ground fighting there, Israel sent troops back to Jabalia to root out Hamas fighters who they said were regrouping for more attacks.
The armed wings of Hamas and Islamic Jihad said their fighters carried out attacks on Israeli forces with anti-tank rockets and mortar bombs.
With the Israeli army calling on Palestinians to evacuate south as they increase pressure on Hamas – and Hamas telling them not to leave because it was too risky – the past few days have resembled earlier phases of the war.
“We were hit non-stop from the air and from the ground for a week. They want us to leave, they want to punish us because we refuse to leave our homes,” said 26-year-old Marwa, who left for a prison with her family. school in Gaza City.
People feared they would never be able to return if they moved south, she said.
UN Deputy Spokesman Farhan Haq says the main border crossings into northern Gaza are closed and no food or other essential supplies have arrived since October 1. More than 400,000 people who remain in the north are under increasing pressure to move south, he said.
Later on Monday, Hamas said Israel aims to forcibly displace the people of northern Gaza through continued bombardments and blocking aid, food and fuel.
“The international community must act against this war crime as the occupation is closing down the area and preventing the access of aid and medicine,” Sami Abu Zuhri, a senior Hamas official, told Reuters.
“By doing this, it causes slow death, in addition to the daily direct killings it carries out,” Abu Zuhri said.
Makes Israel plan to empty Jabalia
Some residents also fear that Israel plans to evacuate Jabalia and possibly the entire northern area based on a proposal by former Israeli generals, which calls for clearing northern Gaza of civilians and besieging the remaining militants until they surrender.
Israel flatly denies such designs.
“We have not received such a plan,” military spokesman Nadav Shoshani told reporters. “We are ensuring that we keep civilians out of harm’s way as we operate against the terror cells in Jabalia,” he said.
The proposal’s lead author, retired general Giora Eiland, said his plan aims to pressure Hamas to release hostages by ending control of territory and aid, rather than sending Israeli troops to the armed forces to send.
“What they are doing now in Jabalia is more of the same,” Eiland told Army Radio on Sunday. “My plan is not being implemented.”
Nevertheless, the United Nations has described the dire conditions affecting the civilian population in Jabalia.
“More than 50,000 people have been displaced from the Jabalia area, which has been cut off, while others remain stranded in their homes amid increasing bombing and fighting,” Muhannad Hadi, the UN humanitarian coordinator for the Palestinian territory, said on Sunday.
“The latest military operations in northern Gaza have forced the closure of wells, bakeries, medical points and shelters, as well as the suspension of protection services, malnutrition treatments and temporary learning spaces. At the same time, hospitals have seen an influx of trauma injuries.”
The Israeli military did not immediately comment.
UN officials are calling for a humanitarian pause in Gaza to allow a second round of polio vaccinations to take place safely, after Palestinian medics said Israeli attacks on a hospital camp and a school killed several people.
Last Friday, the United Nations expressed concern that fighting and evacuation orders in northern Gaza could negatively impact an ongoing polio vaccination campaign, which was set to begin its second phase on Monday.
The first round of vaccinations was undertaken last month after a baby was left partially paralyzed by the type 2 polio virus in August, the first such case in the area in 25 years. The second round will begin in the central areas of Gaza before moving south and later north.
Israel launched the offensive against Hamas after the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, which killed 1,200 people and took about 250 hostage to Gaza, according to Israeli figures. More than 42,000 Palestinians have been killed in the offensive so far, according to Gaza’s health ministry. Most of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents have been displaced and much of the enclave has been destroyed.
