Israeli strikes reportedly kill at least 30 in north Gaza as fleeing Palestinians describe dire conditions
Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip — Israeli strikes killed at least 30 people in Gaza, including on a home where displaced families were sheltering, health officials in the Hamas-run Palestinian territory said Tuesday. Ten people were killed early Tuesday, including four children and two women, and a strike late Monday on the northern Gaza town of Beit Lahiya killed at least 20 people, including eight women and six children, the health officials said.
The Israeli military said it targeted a weapons storage facility in northern Gaza from which a militant had operated, and that "numerous steps were taken to mitigate the risk of harming civilians."
Israel has been waging a massive offensive in northern Gaza — which was already the most isolated and heavily destroyed part of the territory — for nearly a month.
Despite growing pressure from the United States and others in the international community for cease-fires in Gaza and Lebanon, intensified Israeli strikes against the Hezbollah militant group are expanding beyond Lebanon's border areas as Israel continues fighting its war against Hamas in Gaza, with no end in sight.
Since the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah erupted in 2023, when the Iran-backed Lebanese group started firing rockets at Israel in support of Hamas, at least 3,000 people have been killed and some 13,500 wounded in Lebanon, according to the country's Health Ministry.
More than a year of Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza has killed over 43,000 people, according to Palestinian health officials. The Hamas-run Gaza Ministry of Health does not distinguish between civilian and combatant casualties, but says more than half of those killed have been women and children.
The war was sparked by Hamas and allied militants storming into Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people — mostly civilians — and abducting 250 others.
Fleeing Palestinians describe dire conditions in north Gaza
Dozens of Palestinians trickled southward from war-ravaged northern Gaza Tuesday, recounting how they had hardly eaten in days with aid long cut off to the area under heavy Israeli bombardment.
In the far northern town of Beit Lahiya, mostly women and children dragged rucksacks and satchels with belongings as they walked down a street where every building had been completely flattened or partially destroyed.
"We came barefoot. We have no sandals, no clothes, nothing. We have no money. There is no food or drink," said Huda Abu Laila, who along with the others was headed toward Gaza City.
"We are hungry. Hunger has killed us. We were under siege for one month without water or food," the gaunt elderly women continued, before erupting in tears.
Israel launched its new offensive in northern Gaza in early October, focusing on Jabaliya, a densely populated, decades-old urban refugee camp where it says Hamas had regrouped.
The U.N. estimated last week that some 100,000 people remained in the affected area. It has said no aid has reached the far north of the Palestinian territory for weeks. On Monday, the Gaza health ministry said there were no ambulances or emergency crews currently operating north of Gaza City.
Israel has repeatedly issued evacuation warnings for the entirety of northern Gaza, including Gaza City, where several hundred thousand more Palestinians remain.
