11 Jul 20249 Jul 2024 from thefreeonline

Israeli tanks have pressed into the heart of Gaza City as its military ordered the residents out after massive bombardment in areas it said had been largely cleared months ago.

Terrified families’ as Israel ordered Gaza City evacuation yet again after nightime blitz

‘Just started running’

Two families’ desperation as Israel ordered Gaza City evacuation

Two women send desperate messages from Gaza City, detailing the panicked rush for safety as Israel attacked.

“I started trying to call my husband to tell him what happened, to no avail,” Rima told Al Jazeera over phone messages.

Not knowing what was going to happen, she grabbed her children and a few belongings she could find and “just started running towards the north of the city”.

Rima’s mother, who is unwell and cannot move on her own, could not leave with her because she had to wait till her sons could source a wheelchair for her.

Gaza City residents ordered by Israel’s army to move to central Deir el-Balah, which the UN says is ‘already overcrowded’ with displaced Palestinians.

At least 50 killed in new Israeli attacks as Gaza City fighting rages

Israeli forces ramped up attacks on areas across the northern Gaza Strip despite new ceasefire discussions taking place.

At least 50 people were killed in the latest 24-hour reporting period and dozens wounded in strikes throughout the besieged coastal enclave, Gaza’s Ministry of Health said on Tuesday.

Israel expands Genocide Operations despite Hamas ceasefire concessions

Israeli tanks have pressed into the heart of Gaza City as its military ordered the residents out after a night of massive bombardment in areas it said had been largely cleared months ago.

Residents said the air strikes and artillery barrages were among the heaviest in nine months of what many rights experts and governments have termed a genocide.

The Israeli military said it had intelligence showing that fighters from Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) were in the Gaza City area and called on the residents to head south to the city of Deir el-Balah.

In Shujayea, a Gaza City neighbourhood that has seen weeks of fighting, the Israeli military said troops had raided and destroyed schools and a clinic.

Khoudary said the Israeli military had expanded ground operations around Shujayea.

“Some people tried to evacuate. Some people fled under extensive artillery shelling and air strikes; other people were trapped, were unable to leave,” she said.

On Monday, Al Jazeera Arabic’s correspondent reported that further evacuation orders had been issued for the Rimal neighbourhood in central Gaza City.

The new Israeli offensive comes as Egypt, Qatar and the United States step up efforts to mediate a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas.

Hamas has dropped a demand that Israel first commit to a permanent ceasefire before the Palestinian movement would sign an agreement.But Netanyahu’s office reiterated in a statement on Sunday that “any deal will allow Israel to return [to Gaza] and fight until all the goals of the war are achieved”.

As talks repeatedly flounder over differences between the parties, mediators Egypt and Qatar were due to host new meetings this week, according to officials.

• Palestinians flee after Israeli order to leave parts of Gaza City
• Gaza’s ‘safe zone’ of horror
• Israeli attacks not helping Gaza talks, Netanyahu creating obstacles: Hamas

Israeli tanks deepened their incursions into some Gaza City districts such as Shujayea, Sabra and Tal al-Hawa, where residents reported some of the fiercest fighting since the start of the war.

The armed wings of Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad said they fought against Israeli soldiers in Tal al-Hawa with antitank rockets and mortar fire and inflicted casualties. Gaza City residents reported “explosions and numerous gun battles” as well as helicopter strikes through the night in southwestern neighbourhoods.

The Israeli army has focused its attention on Gaza City after announcing it had intelligence showing Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad fighters were operating there.

Gaza City residents have now been told to move to the central district of Deir el-Balah, which the United Nations said “is already seriously overcrowded with Palestinians displaced from other areas of the Gaza Strip”.

In the first weeks of the war, Israel had called on civilians in the north of the enclave to move south, declaring the area a “safe zone” but later expanding its attacks there.

Maha Mahfouz fled her home with her two children and many other Palestinians from Gaza City’s Zeitoun neighbourhood. She said their area was not included in the latest evacuation orders, but “we are panicked because the bombing and gunfire are very close to us.”

At least 25 killed in attack on school in Khan Younis, health ministry says

The Palestinian health ministry says at least 25 Palestinians have been killed following an Israeli attack that struck the vicinity of the al-Awda school in Abasan near the southern city of Khan Younis.

It earlier reported that the bodies of 19 slain Palestinians arrived at Nasser Hospital following the attack.

Gaza’s government media office said 29 Palestinians, mostly women and children, were killed in the attack on the United Nations-run school that was sheltering displaced families.

‘Is there any humanity left?’

Balakrishnan Rajagopal, UN Special Rapporteur on the right to adequate housing, has said that there is “famine across the whole of Gaza. All houses destroyed, food systems destroyed and healthcare destroyed. And kids are dying. Is there any humanity left?”

He made his comments in a post on X in response to a statement by a group of independent experts, himself included, who said that the recent deaths of more Palestinian children due to hunger and malnutrition leaves no doubt that famine has spread across the entire Gaza Strip.

Israel war on Gaza live: Israeli attack on Gaza school kills dozens

This video may contain light patterns or images that could trigger seizures or cause discomfort for people with visual sensitivities.

By Farah Najjar

Published On 9 Jul 20249 Jul 2024

• Gaza’s government media office says 29 Palestinians, mostly women and children, were killed in the attack on a UN-run school in Khan Younis sheltering displaced families.
• Ten UN experts have sounded the alarm on Israel’s “starvation campaign” against the Gaza Strip, saying there is no denying that famine is occurring there.

• At least nine people have been killed in an Israeli attack on Gaza’s Bureij refugee camp, including five children, who were playing in the street.
• Patients and staff flee the al-Ahli Arab Hospital and the Patient’s Friends Benevolent Society Hospital after the Israeli military issues another mass evacuation order for parts of Gaza City.
• The Israeli military said its warplanes attacked “a school complex” in the Nuseirat refugee camp area of central Gaza.
• Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh warns of “disastrous repercussions” for truce talks if Israeli “massacres, killings and displacement” in the Gaza Strip continue.
• At least 38,243 people have been killed and 88,243 wounded in Israel’s war on Gaza since October 7. The death toll in Israel from the Hamas-led attacks is estimated at 1,139, with dozens of people still held captive in Gaza.
• Columbia University ousts 3 deans over texts with ‘anti-Semitic tropes’The University has placed three of its deans on indefinite leave after it says they exchanged text messages that downplayed Jewish students’ concerns about discrimination.

Bodies of 19 slain Palestinians arrive at Nasser Hospital

The bodies of 19 slain Palestinians have arrived at Nasser Hospital so far, following an Israeli attack that struck the vicinity of the al-Awda school in Abasan near the southern city of Khan Younis, the health ministry said.

At least 53 wounded also arrived at the hospital, it added.

Earlier, Gaza’s government media office said 29 Palestinians, mostly women and children, were killed in the attack on the United Nations-run school that was sheltering displaced families, many of whom fled the southernmost city of Rafah when Israeli forces launched a ground assault there in May.