GROUND OPERATIONS, AIR STRIKES CONTINUE
On Tuesday, Gaza’s civil defence agency said Israeli strikes had killed 15 people across the enclave, including 13 in the Al-Shati refugee camp west of Gaza City. More than 50 people were wounded.
The camp, located along the Mediterranean coast, shelters thousands of displaced families living in tents and makeshift structures. Most of Gaza’s population has been displaced at least once during the conflict.
Raed Bakr, a 30-year-old father of three, described the attack as a nightmare. “Fire, dust, smoke and body parts flying through the air,” he told AFP. “The children were screaming.”
The World Health Organization (WHO) also accused Israeli forces of targeting its personnel. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said troops had entered a WHO staff residence in central Gaza, forced women and children to evacuate, and handcuffed and interrogated male staff at gunpoint.
Israeli forces expanded ground operations on Tuesday in Deir el-Balah, previously considered a relatively safe area. The Israeli military said its troops responded to gunfire in the area.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) estimates between 50,000 and 80,000 people are currently living in Deir el-Balah, including around 30,000 in displacement camps. OCHA also said nearly 88 per cent of Gaza’s territory is now under evacuation orders or designated as militarised zones, further reducing the space available to civilians.
Hospitals are also overwhelmed by casualties and lack food and medicine to treat malnutrition. Around 600,000 people are suffering from hunger, including 60,000 pregnant women, according to the health ministry.
VATICAN OFFICIAL, ISRAELI HARDLINERS RESPOND
The Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Pierbattista Pizzaballa, called the humanitarian situation “morally unacceptable” after spending three days in Gaza. His visit followed an Israeli strike last week on the territory’s only Catholic church, which killed three people.
Meanwhile, far-right Israeli lawmakers met in Jerusalem on Tuesday to discuss a controversial redevelopment plan for Gaza, calling for a permanent Jewish presence and a “Gaza Riviera” complete with housing, industry, agriculture and coastal tourism infrastructure.
The war began after Hamas’s Oct 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel, which killed 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli data.
Since then, Israel’s military campaign has killed 59,106 people in Gaza, the vast majority civilians, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory.
