Areas in northern Gaza have been subjected to an intense Israeli offensive over the past two days. Several homes and a multi-storey residential building in Beit Lahiya on Saturday, 19 October, which has killed at least 73 people.
Earlier, on Friday, 18 October, several houses in Jabalia were also hit, killing 33 people, according to doctors and medical officials. Medical officials warned that the death toll from the strikes could increase, as some individuals are believed to be trapped beneath the rubble, and that children were among the victims.
Residents of Jabalia said Israeli tanks had moved into the center of the camp, and are destroying dozens of homes each day, using both airstrikes and ground attacks, as well as placing explosives in buildings and remotely detonating them.
They also said that communications and internet services had been cut, disrupting rescue efforts.
For the past two weeks, Israel has blocked almost all food aid from reaching northern Gaza, leaving around 400,000 Palestinians there with no viable options, according to United Nations aid agencies.
Israeli officials have warned remaining residents in northern Gaza will face starvation, or they can follow orders to flee south, where safety and shelter for the displaced are not guaranteed.
“Intense hostilities, evacuation orders and loss of access to numerous water, sanitation and hygiene facilities in northern Gaza have rendered a number of systems for water production and wastewater collection inoperable,” said Deputy UN Spokesperson, Mr. Haq, during a press briefing in New York, on Thursday.
In Jabalia and Beit Lahiya, municipal well water production has come to a complete halt. Daily water distribution in northern Gaza has dropped to just 638 cubic meters, down from 380,000 cubic meters across Gaza before October 2023.
Israel first launched its military campaign following the October 7 attacks on northern Gaza, then expanded into southern Gaza, displacing 2.3 million people. According to Gaza’s health authorities, more than 42,000 Palestinians have been killed in the ongoing offensive.
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