By Nur Ebu Iyse
GAZA (AA) - The stench of decaying bodies pervades the streets and alleys of the northern Gaza Strip which has been under intense attacks by Israel for nearly one month.
After launching heavy airstrikes Oct. 5, the Israeli army began a ground offensive the following day in an attempt to force Palestinians to flee for 26 straight days and counting.
In addition to the ground and air assaults, Israel is implementing a strict blockade, leaving the population hungry and thirsty.
Israel has turned the streets and alleys of northern Gaza into ruins filled with corpses.
Images documented by Anadolu in Beit Lahiya reveal the extent of the destruction in its efforts to displace Palestinians from the north.
The once vibrant residential areas have been flattened, showing no signs of life, and the streets, described as rubble by Israel, are permeated with the smell of decaying bodies.
Nidal ed-Derimli, who was trapped in a hospital during the Israeli siege, told Anadolu, he had been wounded in attacks and began receiving treatment before the blockade.
But his treatment was interrupted because the hospital literally could not function from the unrelenting assault.
"We went about 20 days without food or water. Soldiers did not allow aid to enter from outside. There were intense explosions, we couldn't even sleep,” he said.
Ed-Derimli recounted that forces detained civilians around the hospital and drove military vehicles over women.
A Palestinian in Beit Lahiya, who spoke anonymously, said the streets and alleys are filled with the overwhelming smell of corpses.
Pointing out that there are no signs of life left in the city, the person said: "We spent days hungry and thirsty. We couldn't communicate with anyone; there was no internet."
"There are no signs of life in the area; the destruction was so severe that we couldn’t recognize our homes. Bodies cannot be buried and are instead thrown into the streets," the subject added.
Israel has continued a devastating offensive against Gaza since a cross-border incursion by the Palestinian resistance group, Hamas, last October, despite a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire.
In more than a year, Israeli attacks have killed in excess of 43,000 people, mostly women and children, and injured north of 101,000, according to local health authorities.
The onslaught has displaced almost the entire population of the territory amid an ongoing blockade that has led to severe shortages of food, clean water and medicine.
Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its actions in Gaza.
*Writing by Muhammed Enes Calli in Istanbul.