RAFAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Palestinians fleeing the ongoing Israeli raid on Gaza's main hospital spoke in interviews Sunday of mass arrests and forced marches over bodies, while the United Nations said it was blocking key agencies that help provide food aid to Palestinians. To the north of the enclave's ruins.
The Israeli military says it has killed more than 170 militants and captured about 480 suspects in an attack on Shifa hospital that began on Monday, raising concerns for Hamas and other armed groups that say they have reunited at the hospital. It is said that this was a blow. war We are approaching the 6 month milestone.
The battle highlights the resilience of Palestinian militants in the heavily devastated area of the Gaza Strip, where Israeli troops are forced to return after fighting. There were similar attacks in the early weeks of the war..
Kareem Ayman Khatat, who lived in a five-story building about 100 meters from the hospital, said he huddled in his kitchen for days as the building occasionally shook from the explosion.
Early Saturday morning, Israeli forces stormed the building and displaced dozens of residents. The men said they were forced to wear their underwear and four were detained. The rest were blindfolded and ordered to follow the tank south as explosions rang out all around them.
“At times, tanks fired shells,” he told The Associated Press. “It was to terrify us.”
Israeli warplanes launched several attacks on Sunday near Shifa Hospital, which has been largely shut down following the November attack.Several months ago, the Israeli military exposed single tunnel It leads to several basements.
In recent weeks, little aid has been delivered to northern Gaza and Gaza City, where Shifa is located. The isolated region suffered widespread devastation early in the Israeli offensive. Hamas attack on October 7th That triggered the war.
UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini said on social media that as of Sunday, Israel had informed the United Nations Palestinian Refugee Agency that it would no longer approve food convoys to northern Gaza.
“This is outrageous and a deliberate sabotage of life-saving efforts during a man-made famine,” he said. agency, Gaza's biggest humanitarian aid workerhas been repeatedly accused by Israel of having ties to Hamas. The Israeli government did not immediately react.
Palestinians inspect damage to a home after an Israeli airstrike in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, Sunday, March 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Fatima Shubeir)
the expert said Famine is imminent in northern GazaMore than 210,000 people are suffering from devastating hunger.
A day after standing near an estimated 7,000 aid trucks waiting to enter Gaza, the UN chief called starvation a “moral outrage”. Antonio Guterres It called for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire, the release of hostages held in the Gaza Strip, and the removal of “obstacles” by Israel to enable the delivery of large amounts of aid.
“If you look at Gaza, it's as if the four horsemen of war, famine, conquest and death are running through it,” Guterres said in Egypt.What justifies collective punishment of Palestinians? He added that there was none.
The Gaza Health Ministry announced that five injured Palestinians trapped in Shifa Hospital died without food, water or medical services. World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus described the situation as “completely inhumane”.
Jameel al-Ayoubi, one of the thousands of people evacuated to Shifa when the current assault began, said tanks and armored bulldozers plowed into the hospital courtyard, crushing ambulances and civilian vehicles. He witnessed tanks drive over the bodies of at least four people killed in the attack.
The Israeli military said on Saturday that insurgents had set up a “trench” in the emergency department of the city of Shifa, evacuating patients and medical staff from the hospital and setting up alternative facilities for seriously injured patients.
Abed Radwan, who lived about 200 meters (yards) from the hospital, said Israeli forces stormed all buildings in the area, detaining several people and marching the others south. He saw bodies and several collapsed houses on the street.
“They left nothing intact,” he said.
Early Sunday, Israeli forces attacked al-Amal and Nasser hospitals in the southern city of Khan Yunis during “very heavy shelling,” according to the Palestinian Red Crescent Society. The Israeli military announced an operation in Khan Yunis targeting Hamas infrastructure, but said there were currently no military operations inside the hospital. He accused Hamas of using the hospital as a shield.
The war has left at least 32,226 Palestinians dead. Gaza Ministry of Health. The number of deaths does not distinguish between civilians and combatants, but it says women and children account for about two-thirds of the deaths.
Palestinians inspect damage to a home after an Israeli airstrike in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, Sunday, March 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Fatima Shubeir)
Israel claims, without providing evidence, that it has killed more than 13,000 militants. They blame Hamas for civilian casualties and accuse it of infiltrating residential areas.
More than 80% of Gaza's population of 2.3 million have left their homes, with the majority seeking refuge. Located in the southernmost city of Rafah, which Israel calls the next target for ground attacks.Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Rejects petition from US Others are trying to avoid large-scale ground operations on the ground, arguing that they are essential to defeating Hamas.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said the U.S. government's invitation was aimed at preserving “the ability to obtain aviation systems and ammunition” in preparation for war and maintaining a vital relationship with Israel's largest ally. In response, he said he visited the United States on Sunday.
Hamas-led attacks across southern Israel on October 7 killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took dozens of hostages. Hamas still holds an estimated 100 hostages and 30 bodies. Most of the rest were released in November in exchange for the release of some Palestinian prisoners of war.
The US, Qatar and Egypt are once again trying to broker a ceasefire and release.
On Sunday, Jews celebrated across the border from Gaza. the most fun on holidayPurim, the Biblical story of a plot to exterminate the Jews in Persia that was thwarted as an affirmation of Jewish survival.
The war caused instability throughout the region. low intensity conflict between Israel and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah. Overnight, the Israeli military announced that it had attacked a Hezbollah weapons manufacturing facility in the city of Baalbek in northeastern Lebanon. Three people were injured, local officials said. Hezbollah later announced that it had fired 60 missiles across the border in response. There were no reports of Israeli casualties.
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Sammy Magdy reported from Cairo. Abby Sewell contributed to this report from Beirut.
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