Jerusalem, Sep 17 (AP) Israeli troops, accompanied by tanks, advanced deeper into Gaza City on Wednesday. This marks the second day of a ground offensive, which has faced extensive international criticism, prompting a mass exodus of Palestinians from the devastated region.
The Israeli military reported that the city had been targeted over 150 times by air force and artillery strikes over the preceding days, preceding the entry of ground troops. High-rise towers, claimed by Israel to be used by Hamas for surveillance, were toppled in heavily populated areas where numerous Palestinians seek shelter.
Hospital officials reported overnight strikes resulted in the deaths of at least 16 individuals, including women and children. The total death toll in Gaza is approaching 65,000 Palestinians since the conflict began on October 7, 2023, following a Hamas-led attack on Israel, according to health officials in the area.
In response, Palestinians are leaving the city in large numbers, using cars or traveling on foot. Israel has opened a southern corridor out of Gaza City for two days, starting Wednesday, to facilitate further evacuation.
Among the latest victims of Israeli strikes, more than half of those killed overnight were in famine-stricken Gaza City, including a child and mother who perished in their apartment in the Shati refugee camp, according to Shifa Hospital officials. In central Gaza's Nuseirat refugee camp, an airstrike on a house resulted in three fatalities, including a pregnant woman, as reported by Al-Awda Hospital. Additionally, two parents and their child were killed when a strike hit their tent west of Khan Younis, as reported by Nasser Hospital.
The Gaza Health Ministry, part of the Hamas-run government, reported that multiple Israeli strikes hit the Rantisi Hospital for children in Gaza City on Tuesday night. Pictures showing damage to the hospital were shared on social media. The strikes forced half of the 80 patients to flee the facility. Remaining at the hospital are 40 patients, including four children in intensive care and eight premature babies, along with 30 medical workers.
The Israeli military is investigating the strikes but has previously accused Hamas of embedding military infrastructure within civilian areas. The military's Arabic spokesperson, Col Avichay Adraee, posted on social media about a new route opened for evacuations beginning at noon on Wednesday.
Communication disruptions have left many Palestinians in northern regions isolated, with the Palestinian Telecommunications Regulatory Authority citing Israeli strikes as the cause for the collapse of internet and phone services. The Associated Press has struggled to contact individuals in Gaza City.
An estimated 1 million Palestinians resided in the Gaza City region before evacuation warnings, with the Israeli military estimating that around 350,000 people have already left. According to UN estimates, over 238,000 Palestinians have fled northern Gaza in the past month, while hundreds of thousands remain.
A coalition of leading aid groups has urged the international community to take stronger measures against Israel’s offensive on Gaza City. This follows a UN expert commission’s finding accusing Israel of committing genocide in the enclave, a charge Israel denies.
“We are witnessing not only an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe, but what the UN Commission has concluded is a genocide,” the aid groups' statement read, calling for decisive action from the international community. The statement was signed by leaders from over 20 aid organizations, including the Norwegian Refugee Council and Save the Children.
Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned Israel's ground offensive, describing it as an extension of a "war of genocide" against Palestinians. Qatar's discontent follows an Israeli strike killing Hamas and local security members last week.
An Israeli military graphic indicated ambitions to control Gaza City except for a coastal stretch. Repeated raids have led to mass displacement and destruction, though militants regrouped on previous occasions. Israel aims to take control of the entire city. An anonymous Israeli military source estimated 2,000 to 3,000 Hamas militants remain in Gaza City, maintaining tunnel networks. While Hamas's capabilities are diminished, it continues guerrilla tactics.
According to Gaza’s Health Ministry, staffed by medical professionals and considered a reliable source by the UN, the war has resulted in over 64,900 Palestinian deaths, half of whom are women and children. The conflict began with a violent Hamas-led siege into southern Israel on October 7, 2023, resulting in 1,200 Israeli deaths, mainly civilians, and the abduction of 251 people. Forty-eight hostages remain in Gaza, with fewer than half presumed alive. (AP)
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