At least five Palestinians have been killed and dozens injured in Israeli attacks in the southern Gaza Strip, Palestinian news agency Wafa reported.
Wafa said at least 30 people were injured in Monday’s attacks on Rafah and Khan Younis.
Casualties were taken to Nasser Medical Complex, but power outages there may make it difficult for the injured to receive treatment, according to the report.
Palestinian officials said 40 bodies arrived at hospitals in the past 24 hours, bringing the death toll in Gaza to 37,124 and more than 84,700 injured since Oct. 7. Thousands of dead are believed to be buried under the rubble of devastated settlements.
Residents of Rafah, a city on the southern edge of Gaza where Israel launched a ground offensive last month, said tanks were advancing deeper into the north in the early morning hours Monday. They were on the edge of Shaboura, one of the most densely populated areas in the city centre.
Hamas’s armed wing, the Qassam Brigades, claimed that Israeli forces had attacked Israeli forces, “killing and wounding” soldiers.
In a statement posted on Telegram, the Qassam Brigades said fighter jets detonated explosives at a booby-trapped house while Israeli forces were inside.
He added, “As soon as the rescue team arrived, we (fighters) blew up the area around the house with mortar shells.”
About half of Gaza’s 2.3 million people had taken refuge in Rafah before the attacks last month. According to the United Nations, one million people have since left the region.
Last week, Israel launched a major offensive in central Gaza around the small town of Deir el Bala, the last population center not yet attacked. Residents on Monday said Israeli forces had withdrawn from some areas but were continuing airstrikes and shelling.
Residents of the Nuseyrat refugee camp, north of Deir el Bala, were still clearing away debris even after Israel rescued four prisoners in a massive airstrike on Saturday. Palestinian officials said the attack killed 274 people, making it one of the deadliest ongoing attacks.
In a video obtained by Reuters from Nuseirat, resident Anas Alyan stands outside the ruins of his home as Israeli soldiers in shorts appear on the street and F-16s and quadcopters fire in the air. It depicts violent shooting while shooting.
“Anyone moving on the streets was murdered. “Anyone who moved or walked died instantly,” he said.
“There are still children under this building. “We don’t know how to get them out,” he said, pointing to one of the ruins. “Today we found martyred children in that building,” he said, pointing to another building.
Hospitals in the Gaza Strip, hit hard by months of Israeli attacks and blockades, have appealed for help as they struggle to treat patients.
Al Jazeera’s Hind Khoudary reports from Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir el-Balah, dealing with a huge influx of wounded following Saturday’s raids. He said an additional emergency room has been opened to do this.
The hospital, which runs on just a single generator, is still full of sick and injured patients and is performing surgeries “by the hour,” she said.
Indescribable ‘destruction’
The United Nations Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) said more than half of the buildings in Gaza have been destroyed in Israeli attacks since the war began on October 7.
“The destruction of Gaza is indescribable,” X said, citing data from the UN satellite centre.
“It will take years to clear the rubble. “It will take much longer to heal the psychological trauma of this war.” UNRWA added, calling for a ceasefire.
“This suffering must end,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Palestine Red Crescent Society said Israel continues to close Gaza’s vital Rafah border crossing with Egypt “with a severe famine imminent across the Gaza Strip.”
“The implementation of collective punishment against the Palestinian population in the Gaza Strip not only further worsens the humanitarian situation in the Strip, but is also a direct violation of the International Court of Justice’s May Order on Interim Measures and international humanitarian law,” the medical charity said. said: X said:
Israel’s occupation continues to close. #Rapha We traverse the midst of imminent famine across the Gaza Strip.
😀 This collective punishment of the Palestinian population is #let’s go Not only will it make the humanitarian situation worse… pic.twitter.com/8suRJK6dP1— PRCS (@PalestineRCS) June 10, 2024
Khoudary said aid flows to Gaza remain insufficient and many people are now eating “only one meal a day.”
“This is not only in the south but also in the north” of Gaza, Khoudary said, adding that markets are mostly empty and most people have difficulty affording edible food.
The United Nations World Food Program (WFP) said on Monday it had suspended aid deliveries to Gaza through a US-built dock due to safety concerns.
The Gaza Strip government press office said in a statement that Palestinians in Gaza had not “benefited” from the floating dock. He said the dock did nothing to ease the suffering of the families or improve the dire humanitarian situation there.
The media office said only a “very limited number” of the 120 relief trucks had been delivered since installation about a month and a half ago.
