A photograph captures the scene of clothes hung out to dry on a line inside a severely damaged building within a neighborhood ravaged by Israeli strikes in the southern Gaza Strip on Monday. — AFP
Israeli military strikes claimed the lives of at least 14 Palestinians across the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, with the majority of casualties occurring in the town of Beit Lahiya on its northern border, according to medics. The army also issued fresh evacuation orders in the southern part of the small enclave. Medics reported that eight individuals were killed in a series of strikes in Beit Lahiya, while four others perished elsewhere in Gaza City. Later, an Israeli air strike resulted in two fatalities and several injuries in Jabalia, the largest of Gaza's eight historic refugee camps in the northern Gaza Strip.
The Israeli army has been active in Jabalia, as well as in the towns of Beit Lahiya and Beit Hanoun since October. Since the operation commenced, its forces have reportedly killed hundreds of militants in these three locations. Hamas, the militant Palestinian group governing Gaza, and the Islamic Jihad armed wing have claimed that their fighters ambushed and killed several Israeli soldiers during this period.
Palestinians have accused Israel's army of attempting to force people out of the northern edge of Gaza through forced evacuations and bombardments to establish a buffer zone. The army refutes these claims, stating that its return is aimed at preventing Hamas fighters from regrouping in an area from which they had previously been cleared. The Palestinian Civil Emergency Service announced that its operations in Jabalia, Beit Lahiya, and Beit Hanoun have been suspended for nearly four weeks due to Israeli attacks on their teams and fuel shortages.
On Tuesday, the service reported that 13 out of 27 vehicles in central and southern Gaza Strip were out of operation due to fuel shortages. Since the war began, 88 members of the Civil Emergency Service have been killed, 304 wounded, and 21 detained by Israel. Evacuation orders were issued by the Israeli army on Tuesday to residents in northern districts of Khan Younis, a town in the south of the Gaza Strip, due to rocket fire by militants from those areas. The orders led to the hurried departure of families, mostly before dawn, moving westward.
"For your own safety, you must evacuate the area immediately and move to the humanitarian zone," the army stated on X. Palestinian and United Nations officials assert that there are no safe areas within the enclave. Most of Gaza's 2.3 million inhabitants have been internally displaced, some as many as 10 times since the war started last year. Israel initiated its campaign in the densely populated Palestinian enclave following Hamas-led fighters' attacks on Israeli communities on October 7, 2023, which resulted in 1,200 deaths and the capture of over 250 hostages, according to Israeli records. Israel's military campaign has led to the deaths of more than 44,400 Palestinians, numerous injuries, and the destruction of much of the enclave.
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