200,000 Palestinians without food, water in Jabalia amid deadly Israeli offensive

By Mohamed Majed

GAZA CITY, Palestine (AA) - About 200,000 residents in northern Gaza, particularly in Jabalia, are facing critical shortages of food, water, and medicine as Israel’s ground offensive continues for the 14th consecutive day, reported the Gaza Civil Defense on Friday.

Mahmoud Basal, spokesperson for the Civil Defense, told Anadolu: "The Israeli army is bombing and destroying buildings, homes, and infrastructure across northern Gaza in an effort to wipe out the area.”

“Many Palestinian civilians have been killed by Israeli forces, either buried under rubble or shot on the roads, and we are unable to retrieve their bodies due to the ongoing military offensive,” he added.

The Israeli army continues to target any moving object in the region, according to Basal, making it impossible for rescue teams to recover the bodies.

Separately, the Israeli army announced on Friday that it had deployed the Givati Brigade to the 162nd Division as part of an expansion of its military offensive in northern Gaza.

Since Oct. 6, the Israeli army has intensified its military actions in the region, encircling Jabalia and preventing civilians from fleeing to Gaza City, directing them instead to use Salah al-Din Street, which stretches along the eastern length of the Gaza Strip from north to south.

This marks the third ground operation conducted by the Israeli army in Jabalia camp since the onset of the ongoing genocide in Gaza on Oct. 7, 2023.

Israel has launched a brutal offensive on the Gaza Strip following a Hamas attack last year, killing more than 42,400 people, mostly women and children, and injuring over 99,200 others.

The conflict has spread to Lebanon, with Israel launching deadly strikes across the country, which have killed more than 1,500 people and injured over 4,500 others since Sept. 23.

Despite international warnings that the Middle East was on the brink of a regional war amid Israel’s relentless attacks on Gaza and Lebanon, Tel Aviv expanded the conflict by launching a ground incursion into southern Lebanon on Oct. 1.

*Writing by Ikram Kouachi in Ankara