By Mustafa Haboush
GAZA CITY, Palestine (AA) - The death toll in northern Gaza continued to rise as Israeli air and artillery strikes targeted residential areas in Jabalia, Beit Lahia, and Beit Hanoun, leaving numerous Palestinian civilians dead or injured, according to witnesses and medical sources.
Since Saturday evening, Israeli forces have intensified their attacks on densely populated areas, with Jabalia and Beit Lahia reported as some of the hardest-hit locations. Eyewitnesses described scenes of devastation, with bodies scattered across the streets and ongoing bombardment hindering any efforts to retrieve the dead or aid the injured.
Medical sources reported that rescue efforts are severely impeded due to the Israeli-imposed siege, which has isolated northern Gaza and made access difficult for emergency responders. Ambulance crews are struggling to reach civilians, including women and children, who remain trapped beneath rubble from destroyed homes.
In addition to the heavy shelling, Israeli forces reportedly demolished residential buildings in Jabalia and the al-Tuwam neighborhood of Beit Lahia. In a separate incident, an airstrike on a residential building in the al-Tuffah neighborhood injured six Palestinians, including several children, medical personnel at Baptist Hospital in Gaza City told Anadolu.
Since Oct. 6, the Israeli army has imposed a tight siege on Jabalia, following an unprecedented escalation of violence in northern Gaza, marking the fiercest clashes since May.
Israel has continued a brutal offensive on Gaza following a cross-border incursion by the Palestinian group Hamas on Oct. 7 last year, despite a UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate cease-fire.
More than 42,200 people have since been killed, mostly women and children, and over 98,300 injured, according to local health authorities.
The Israeli onslaught has displaced almost the entire population of the Gaza Strip amid an ongoing blockade that has led to severe shortages of food, clean water, and medicine.
Israel faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its actions in Gaza.
*Writing by Ikram Kouachi in Ankara