Israeli ground offensive in Gaza's Shejaya is continuation of 'genocidal war,' says Hamas

By Mohammed Majed

GAZA CITY, Palestine (AA) – The Palestinian group Hamas on Thursday slammed the Israeli army for its ground offensive in the Shejaiya neighborhood east of Gaza City, describing it as the continuation of the "genocidal war" against Palestinians, in which the US administration is a "partner” in the crime.

The statement came after the Israeli army launched a ground offensive in Shejaiya on Thursday, the third since the war began on Oct. 7 of last year.

“The intensive shelling on Shejaiya, east of Gaza City, is a continuation of the genocidal war against Palestinians in Gaza, fully supported and covered by the US administration, a partner in these crimes,” Hamas said.

The statement said: “This fascist policy, with repeated targeting of cities, camps, and neighborhoods, deliberately killing civilians and destroying infrastructure to deepen the suffering of our people, constitutes a complete war crime.”

Earlier on Thursday, the state-run Israeli Broadcasting Authority reported that the Israeli army has launched a "ground operation" in Shejaiya, northern Gaza, claiming to dismantle Hamas infrastructure that is “still operational.”

“The ground raid was conducted following intelligence gathered by the General Security Service (Shabak) and the Intelligence Division of the Israeli army, indicating that Hamas has begun to regain control of the neighborhood,” the media outlet claimed.

“This is the third time that the Israeli army has carried out ground operations in Shejaiya, which it last left in early January,” it added.

Earlier in the day, Gaza Civil Defense spokesman Mahmoud Basal said “Bodies of seven martyrs and dozens of injured were shifted to the Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital in Gaza City.”

"There are many dead people still on the roads and inside homes," he said, adding that civil defense teams are unable to reach the scene to "retrieve the bodies of martyrs and the injured" due to the intensity of the Israeli bombardment.

Flouting a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire, Israel has faced international condemnation amid its continued brutal offensive on Gaza since an Oct. 7, 2023 attack by Palestinian group Hamas.

More than 37,700 Palestinians have since been killed in Gaza, most of them women and children, and over 86,400 others injured, according to local health authorities.

Over eight months into the Israeli war, vast tracts of Gaza lie in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water and medicine.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, whose latest ruling ordered Tel Aviv to immediately halt its military operation in the southern city of Rafah, where over a million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war before it was invaded on May 6.

*Writing by Rania Abu Shamala