At Least 200 Killed in Israeli Airstrikes on Northern Gaza
At least 200 people were killed in Israeli airstrikes on northern Gaza on Saturday, according to local health officials. The attacks come as a humanitarian crisis deepens in the enclave, where chronic hunger threatens the remaining civilian population. Tens of thousands of people have been killed by the Israeli military since the war began last year.
The airstrikes hit five buildings housing over 200 people in the Tal Al Zaatar and Beit Lahiya areas of northern Gaza. Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya, director of the Kamal Adwan Hospital, described the scene as a “daily occurrence” with no one held accountable for the killing of innocent people.
The strikes also come amid an uneasy truce between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon, which Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said would allow his forces to focus on Gaza.
The deadly attacks coincide with the theft of trucks carrying food and other supplies into the besieged strip, prompting the UN agency for Palestinian refugees to halt aid deliveries through the main crossing point between Israel and Gaza. UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini warned that “hunger is rapidly deepening” and called on Israel to ensure the protection of aid workers and supplies.
The decision to stop deliveries through Kerem Shalom was made after several trucks were stolen on the route, including five loaded with flour on Sunday. Lazzarini said that the humanitarian operation in Gaza had become “unnecessarily impossible” due to Israeli authorities’ restrictions and the breakdown of law and order in the enclave.
