Isreal Sends More Troops To Northern Gaza

The Israeli military said on Friday it sent additional army unit to support its forces operating in Jabalia, the largest of Gaza’s eight historic refugee camps, where residents said tanks blew up roads and houses as they thrust further into the territory.

Residents of Jabalia in northern Gaza said Israeli tanks had reached the heart of the camp, using heavy air and ground fire, after pushing through suburbs and residential districts.

They added that the Israeli army was destroying dozens of houses on a daily basis, sometimes from the air and the ground and by placing bombs in buildings, then detonating them remotely.

The Israeli military said its forces, which have been operating in Jabalia for the past two weeks, killed dozens of militants in close-quarters combat on Thursday and carried out aerial strikes and dismantled military infrastructure.

The escalation of Israel’s Jabalia operation came a day after it said it had killed the country’s number one enemy, Yahya Sinwar, Hamas’s chief, whom it blamed for ordering the Oct 7 attack on Israel, the deadliest in the history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Israeli military says its operation in Jabalia is intended to stop Hamas fighters from regrouping for more attacks.

Hospital Supplies
On Friday, health officials appealed for fuel, medical supplies, and food to be sent immediately to three northern Gaza hospitals overwhelmed by the number of patients and injuries.

At the Kamal Adwan Hospital, medics had to replace children in intensive care with more critical cases of adults badly wounded by Israeli air strikes on a school sheltering displaced Palestinians in Jabalia on Thursday, killing 28 people.

The children were moved to another division inside the facility, where they were being well taken care of, he said.

“All those cases are critical, and they need medical intervention,” said Hussam Abu Safiya, Kamal Adwan’s director, in a video sent to the media.

Philippe Lazzarini, head of the U.N. Palestinian refugee agency UNRWA, said on X that the attack on the school was the third on an UNRWA facility this week, adding the agency had now lost a total of 231 team members in the past year of fighting.

Israel began its military campaign after the Oct. 7 attacks on southern Israel by Hamas-led fighters, who killed 1,200 people and captured 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.

More than 42,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s offensive so far, according to Gaza’s health authorities.

Reuters/ Ejiofor Ezeifeoma