Israel intensified its offensive on the strip this Saturday with a new series of ground and air attacks against Hamas to achieve total control of the north of the strip. It is the area where their military offensive began two and a half months ago.
The thick smoke that hung over the northern city of Jabaliya this Saturday, which is also home to the largest refugee camp in Gaza, and the testimonies of residents confirm that the offensive persists and spreads.
The Israeli tanks, according to these sources, would have entered the city. They also reportedly killed Hamas militants after firing decoy shots in the Issa area and discovered new tunnels. The Hamas leader in charge of the arms trade is presumed dead.
Meanwhile, Hamas’s armed wing, the Al Qasam brigades, claimed to have destroyed five Israeli tanks in the area and killed and wounded their members after reusing two unexploded missiles launched by Israel. The Israeli Government has confirmed five deaths. Due to the Israeli bombings, Hamas also claims to have lost contact with a group responsible for five hostages.
Israel accuses the group of placing militants among civilians in tunnels and other infrastructure to use them as human shields, something Hamas denies.
The weather, in the last few hours with wind, rain and cold, in turn complicates day-to-day life in a territory in which 60% of the homes are rubble, hunger affects half of the population and there is a shortage total basic supplies, including electricity.
At least 201 Palestinians have died over the past 24 hours, raising the death toll to 20,258 since October 7, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health. Thousands more bodies are believed to have been trapped under the rubble. Almost all of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents have been displaced.
