Gaza City under Siege – Heavy Shelling and Displacement amid Israeli Incursion

Massive destruction in Gaza City. (Photo: via QNN)

By Palestine Chronicle Staff  

Israeli occupation forces penetrated southwest Gaza City at dawn on Monday, leading to a large displacement of Palestinian residents. 

Neighborhoods in Gaza City and the central areas of the Strip experienced intensive raids resulting in casualties and injuries.

Al-Jazeera reported that Israeli forces suddenly advanced into the vicinity of the university and industrial areas on the southern outskirts of the Tal al-Hawa neighborhood, causing significant displacement from the industrial area. The occupation forces have reportedly besieged several families in these areas.

For its part, Palestinian Al-Aqsa Channel reported that Israeli vehicles moved deep into the southern areas of Gaza City, specifically the Al-Sabra and Tal Al-Hawa neighborhoods, reaching Al-Sina’a Street after displacing residents from eastern neighborhoods towards the west on Sunday.

The Anadolu Agency confirmed the Israeli penetration into the southern outskirts of the Al-Rimal neighborhood, as well as Tal Al-Hawa and the industrial area. Reuters added that Israeli tanks entered the city center from several directions.

The Israeli army stated it was conducting a military operation against what it termed military infrastructure, claiming to have killed about 30 Palestinian fighters.

Anadolu Agency reported violent raids by Israeli warplanes targeting roads, homes, and residential buildings in Al-Rimal, Tal Al-Hawa, and Al-Sinaa neighborhoods, resulting in deaths and injuries. 

Thousands of Palestinians were displaced and were forced to spend the night in the streets without shelter. 

The Israeli army had earlier forced thousands of displaced people from the Tuffah and Daraj neighborhoods to flee on foot.

Most Violent Attack

Residents described the new Israeli attack as one of the most violent since the war on Gaza began on October 7, Al-Jazeera reported.

The occupation forces continued their penetration into the Shejaiya neighborhood east of the city for the second week, killing at least four Palestinians, according to Al-Jazeera.

In the northern Gaza Strip, ten Palestinians were reportedly killed due to Israeli shelling in the Jabalia al-Nazla area, with many wounded arriving at the Indonesian Hospital after being discharged from the Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital due to ongoing bombings. 

Meanwhile, in the southern Gaza Strip, Israeli artillery shelling injured people in the Khirbet al-Adas area north of Rafah city.

Staggering Death Toll

Currently on trial before the International Court of Justice for genocide against Palestinians, Israel has been waging a devastating war on Gaza since October 7. 

According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, 38,098 Palestinians have been killed, and 87,705 wounded in Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza starting on October 7.

Moreover, at least 11,000 people are unaccounted for, presumed dead under the rubble of their homes throughout the Strip. 

Israel says that 1,200 soldiers and civilians were killed during the Al-Aqsa Flood Operation on October 7. Israeli media published reports suggesting that many Israelis were killed on that day by ‘friendly fire’. 

‘Not Implausible’ – The Lancet Estimates Gaza Death Toll Could Be 186,000 or More

Palestinian and international organizations say that the majority of those killed and wounded are women and children.

The Israeli war has resulted in an acute famine, mostly in northern Gaza, resulting in the death of many Palestinians, mostly children. 

The Israeli aggression has also resulted in the forceful displacement of nearly two million people from all over the Gaza Strip, with the vast majority of the displaced forced into the densely crowded southern city of Rafah near the border with Egypt – in what has become Palestine’s largest mass exodus since the 1948 Nakba.

Later in the war, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians began moving from the south to central Gaza in a constant search for safety. 

(PC, AJA)

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