Israel expands its operations in Gaza: deaths, evacuation orders, and relentless bombardment

On Sunday morning, the city of Gaza witnessed a fresh escalation as the Israeli army expanded its military operations.

According to Israel’s Channel 12, the army detonated buildings around the University College in the southern part of the city, while military bulldozers were deployed in Gaza’s streets since dawn.

The Israeli army also dropped leaflets over the Rimal neighborhood, warning residents that the area had become a “battle zone” and urging them to evacuate immediately to the south of the Strip. The leaflets included a phone number for reporting Hamas roadblocks.

Dozens killed

Israeli airstrikes targeted tents sheltering displaced people inside Palestine Stadium in Rimal, killing six Palestinians and injuring several others, including children. Fires broke out in the tents following the strikes.

Later, seven more people were killed when a residential building in the al-Hawa neighborhood, south of Gaza, was bombed. Four civilians were shot dead and dozens wounded by Israeli forces while waiting for humanitarian aid north of Rafah.

Medical sources reported that five additional Palestinians were killed and 35 wounded in ongoing strikes since the morning that hit various neighborhoods in Gaza. Israeli artillery also continued shelling different parts of Khan Younis and the southern Strip.

The death toll in Gaza since the beginning of the offensive on October 7, 2023, has now risen to over 64,803, most of them women and children, while the number of injured stands at 164,264, according to provisional figures. Many victims remain trapped under the rubble, with rescue teams unable to reach them.

Raid at Al-Aqsa Mosque

In Jerusalem, dozens of settlers stormed the courtyards of the Al-Aqsa Mosque under police protection, carrying out what were described as provocative tours and performing Talmudic rituals, continuing an escalatory policy in the holy city.

U.S. criticism of Netanyahu

Meanwhile, Wendy Sherman, former U.S. Deputy Secretary of State, stated that Israel’s military operations in Gaza and Doha “push the prospects for peace even further away,” warning that ignoring the humanitarian situation in the Strip “will create a new generation of violence.”

In an interview with Yediot Aharonot, she said she was not surprised by accusations that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was obstructing deals and prolonging the war, adding that he “takes great pleasure in the power he wields and convinces himself that he is doing the right thing.”