Israeli Forces Bombard Palestinian Refugee Camps in Central Gaza
Israeli forces bombarded Palestinian refugee camps on Tuesday in central Gaza and issued orders telling residents to evacuate, signs that the military plans to expand its ground offensive into another part of the besieged territory, according to reports from the Associated Press.
The offensive poses a threat of new destruction in a war in which Israel’s military has said will last for “many months,” as it vows to crush the ruling Hamas militant group after its Oct. 7 attack. Israeli forces have been engaged in heavy urban fighting in northern Gaza and the southern city of Khan Younis, driving Palestinians into ever-smaller areas in search of refuge.
Gaza’s main telecom provider announced another “complete interruption” of services, further hampering communication and aid efforts during the ongoing conflict.
Despite U.S. calls for fewer civilian casualties and international pressure for a cease-fire, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has stated that the fight is “isn’t close to finished.”
The offensive has resulted in over 20,900 Palestinian deaths, two-thirds of which are women and children, according to the Health Ministry in Gaza. On Tuesday, it was reported that 240 people had been killed over the past 24 hours.
The U.N. human rights office has expressed grave concern about the continued bombardment of central Gaza by Israeli forces, which has claimed more than 100 Palestinian lives since Christmas Eve, noting that Israel had ordered some residents to move to the area.
In response, Israel said it would no longer grant automatic visas to U.N. employees, accusing the world body of being “complicit partners” in Hamas’ tactics, further hindering aid efforts in Gaza.
Reports from residents of central Gaza described a night of shelling and airstrikes in the Nuseirat, Maghazi, and Bureij camps, which house Palestinians who were driven from their homes in what is now Israel during the 1948 war. In addition to the camps being crowded with people who fled from the north.
The telecom outage announced by Paltel follows similar outages through much of the war. NetBlocks, a group that tracks internet outages, confirmed that network connectivity in Gaza was disrupted again and “likely to leave most residents offline.”
Israel is facing regional spillover in addition to the conflict in Gaza. Defense Minister Yoav Gallant stated that Israel faces a “multi-arena war” from seven different fronts, including Gaza, the occupied West Bank, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Yemen, and Iran.
Throughout the war, Iranian-backed militia groups around the region have stepped up attacks in support of Hamas.
It remains a volatile situation as the conflict expands, hindering aid efforts and prompting international concerns of the escalating violence.