31 October 2023 , 20:33
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More than 100 people were killed by an Israeli air strike which devastated Gaza’s biggest refugee camp.
The Israeli Defence Forces confirmed it was responsible for the outrage at Jabalia, north of Gaza City, which is home to 114,000 people. It said the attack killed the commander of Hamas’s Central Jabalia Battalion, Ibrahim Biari, among other members. Witnesses said most of the dead were women and children, as the strikes levelled Block 6 in the camp.
Photos of the aftermath showed two huge craters, with people desperately searching for loved ones buried under the rubble. Resident Ragheb Aqal said the strikes were “like an earthquake” which shook the whole camp. Palestine Red Crescent Society spokesman Nebal Farsakh said: “The situation is absolutely horrific. We have been witnessing this increasing number of casualties among Palestinian civilians in Gaza due to attacks against residential buildings, homes, streets, as well as places of worship and hospitals.
An Israeli soldier aims his gun (IDF)“Hospitals are already overwhelmed, and they barely can deal with the casualties. They are working at full capacity. This comes at the same time all hospitals are literally collapsing due to shortages of medical supplies as well as medicines, and they are running out of fuel, which is urgently needed.”
UNICEF’s James Elder said: “Our gravest fears about the numbers of children killed becoming dozens, hundreds, and ultimately thousands were realised in just a fortnight. The numbers are appalling; reportedly more than 3,450 children killed; staggeringly this rises significantly every day.”
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“Gaza has become a graveyard for thousands of children. It’s a living hell for everyone else.” The World Health Organisation warned Gaza was on the brink of a “public health catastrophe”. And the head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees said: “An immediate ceasefire has become a matter of life and death for millions.”
A girl in Rafah, southern Gaza (AFP via Getty Images)Philippe Lazzarini, commissioner general of UNRWA, added a further breakdown of civil order following the looting of warehouses “will make it extremely difficult, if not impossible, for the largest UN agency in Gaza to continue operating”. Elsewhere in Gaza, two Israeli soldiers died in an operation which the IDF said had killed “dozens” of Hamas fighters.
Staff Sergeants Roei Wolf, 20, and Lavi Lipshitz, 20, both served in the Givati Infantry Brigade’s reconnaissance unit. Tanks were seen on the outskirts of Gaza City as Israeli troops attacked Hamas’s tunnel network looking for hostages. In the fifth day of major ground operations inside northern Gaza, the IDF said it had engaged in “fierce battles”, with footage showing columns of tanks and soldiers advancing further into the enclave.
Spokesman Daniel Hagari said: “So far, families of 240 hostages have received notification. The number rose to 240 because of our identification – some of the people are not citizens of Israel, so identification is more complicated.” Israeli police said 826 civilian victims of the deadly Hamas assault on October 7 have now been identified. This accounts for 85% of the bodies found.
Damage to a block in Jenin on the West Bank (Nasser Ishtayeh/SOPA Images/REX/Shutterstock)So far, 732 of the victims have been released for burial. Efforts to identify all the victims is a slow process, with many having been badly burned or mutilated in the assault. In addition, more than 350 members of the security forces were killed in the attacks. PM Rishi Sunak spoke to his Israeli counterpart, Benjamin Netanyahu, on Tuesday.
A Downing Street spokeswoman said: “The Prime Minister stressed the importance of rapidly increasing the flow of humanitarian aid to Gaza and welcomed Israel’s commitment to facilitate significantly more deliveries.” Air raid sirens sounded for the first time in Eilat, in the southern tip of Israel, after a “hostile aircraft intrusion” was shot down over the Red Sea. Houthis in Yemen claimed to have launched a “large number” of ballistic missiles and drones toward Israel.