Gaza Strip: Death and Injury Toll Rises After Israeli Offensive
Victims of the Atacks of Israel, july 2024 Photo: @Moonbootica
July 24, 2024 Hour: 1:02 pm
Three months after withdrawing from Khan Younis, the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) yesterday ordered the evacuation of the eastern area and minutes later launched a massive wave of shelling, a step prior to the entry of its soldiers.
On Tuesday, medical sources reported that at least 77 Palestinians were killed and 200 others injured during a new Israeli army ground offensive against the Gaza town of Khan Younis.
Related:
WHO Warns of Danger of Polio Epidemic in Gaza
Health authorities in the territory reported that some 30 people are still buried under rubble after Israeli bombardment of buildings in the city.
The official Wafa news agency reported that the aggression “coincided with the forced displacement of tens of thousands of citizens, amid catastrophic humanitarian and medical conditions”.
Three months after withdrawing from Khan Younis, the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) yesterday ordered the evacuation of the eastern area and minutes later launched a massive wave of shelling, a step prior to the entry of its soldiers.
The Nasser Medical Complex reported receiving hundreds of people within hours of the start of the campaign.
“We are losing the lives of the sick and wounded due to lack of capacity. We don’t have the minimum resources and supplies to treat the wounded,” warned a medical source quoted by Wafa.
Regional television stations showed images of tens of thousands of Palestinians as they fled with what little they could carry on their shoulders or at best on bicycles or donkey carts.
According to Wafa, the IDF also decided to reduce the size of the so-called Al Mawasi safe area near the town, where hundreds of thousands of Palestinians are sheltering.
Although declared safe, the area was the target of several Israeli attacks, including one 10 days ago that killed 90 people and wounded 300 under the pretext of eliminating Mohammed Deif, head of Hamas’s military wing.
The news outlet noted that “immediately after the army’s decision, an intense air and ground bombardment operation was launched against Khan Younis, without giving the citizens a chance to flee”.
Al Jazeera television said the new attack came only 15 minutes after the evacuation order, announced by IDF Arabic-language spokesman Avichay Adraee.
The official issued the alert on the grounds of a new military offensive against Palestinian militias that have allegedly returned to the area after the military withdrawal.
According to the UN, more than 90 per cent of the 2.3 million Gazans have become refugees since the beginning of the current cycle of violence on 7 October.
Much of Khan Younis was destroyed following a ground offensive launched late last year.
Numerous casualties were also reported in recent hours as a result of Israeli incursions into several areas of the coastal enclave.
Autor: OSG
Fuente: Aljazeera-WAFA
