Alongside its land operations and its missile attacks on Lebanon, the Israeli army is increasing its strikes on the north of the Gaza Strip. On Wednesday October 9, these continued while since Sunday, “evacuation orders” were broadcast by the Israeli army, concerning an arcuate area, to the very north of the enclave, including parts of Gaza City, the localities of Beit Hanoun and Beit Lahya, close to Israeli territory. So many places already bombed from the first hours of the war and partly emptied of their inhabitants. The orders directed the population, estimated at some 400,000 people according to the Gaza governorate as of 1is October, to head towards the south of the enclave.
At the same time, a military operation was carried out to surround the Jabaliya camp, near Gaza City, which has been subject to intense shooting and bombing since Monday. A mother, contacted by telephone on Wednesday morning, said she did not “not being able to leave the camp with your children” and added: “Either way, whether we leave the camp to go south or stay here, the result is the same: they shoot at us either way. » Sunday, the 162e division of the Israeli army had begun the encirclement of this locality where, according to a briefing by Nadav Shoshani, spokesperson for the Israeli army, on Tuesday evening, the current operations are aimed at a “grouping of Hamas forces whose aim was to launch attacks”. Indication of the fact that even if the Hamas battalions are partly destroyed, their surviving elements continue to carry out guerrilla operations.
The injunctions to leave the area and go to the other side of the Netzrarim corridor, installed by the army and which now cuts the enclave in two, do not seem to be fully implemented. According to the United Nations, on Tuesday there were 70,000 people displaced in recent days throughout the northern part of Gaza. These evacuation orders, recalls Juliette Touma, spokesperson for UNRWA, the United Nations agency responsible for Palestinian refugees, are similar to “forced displacement, and are now part of a context of restriction of movement in northern Gaza”.
Three hospitals concerned
On Monday, evacuation orders were also sent to the three hospitals in the area. In Kamal-Adwan’s, the director launched calls for help, claiming that the army was threatening to invade his establishment. South of Jabaliya, Mohammed Salha, the director of Al-Awda hospital, decided to ignore evacuation orders “We’re not moving. If they want to evacuate us it will be by force. We have injured people, we can’t transport them anyway”he declared Tuesday evening, reached by telephone. Al-Awda continues to function as best it can, while new wounded arrive. The hospital received around forty during the day on Tuesday. The two operating theaters are running non-stop there. Seventy-nine employees out of the 155 who previously worked at Al-Awda no longer leave. Additional beds have been installed in the corridors. Mohammed Salha also describes the extreme danger for those trying to flee the area, blocked by gunfire in the streets, and by the collapse of buildings destroyed by Israeli army bombs.
You have 27.76% of this article left to read. The rest is reserved for subscribers.
