By Mohamed Majed
GAZA CITY, Palestine (AA) – At least 125 Palestinians were killed in Israeli attacks in the northern Gaza Strip this week, the government media office said on Wednesday.
“Dozens of bodies remain on the streets, with ambulances and civil defense teams unable to reach them due to Israeli targeting of vehicles,” it added in a statement.
The media office accused Israel of committing “a crime against humanity by forcing more than 17,000 displaced civilians to evacuate their shelters.”
It appealed to the international community to intervene to halt the “ethnic cleansing” and “crimes against humanity” being carried out by the Israeli army against Palestinians.
The media office held the US government “fully responsible for the continuation of the Israeli crimes,” which it said had gone on without reprieve since last year.
The Israeli army launched a new onslaught in northern Gaza on Sunday, claiming that the military operation aims to prevent Hamas from regaining strength in the area.
As part of the offensive, the Israeli army ordered Palestinian residents in Jabalia, Beit Hanoun, and Beit Lahia to leave their homes and head south.
According to an Anadolu reporter, the Israeli army has slapped a tight siege around northern Gaza from all directions, cutting it off from Gaza City.
Israel has continued its brutal offensive on the Gaza Strip following an attack by the Palestinian group Hamas last year, despite a UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate cease-fire.
More than 42,000 people have since been killed, mostly women and children, and over 97,700 others 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 Mohammad Sio