Israel’s siege of northern Gaza leaves 5,000 dead, missing after 100 days | News about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict

Israel’s military siege of the northern Gaza Strip has left around 5,000 Palestinians dead or missing after 100 days of brutal attacks that have only intensified amid talks on a potential brokered deal between Israel and Hamas.

Another 9,500 Palestinians were injured as a result Israeli military operation in the north which was launched in early October, a medical source told Al Jazeera on Sunday.

The government’s media office in Gaza described the Israeli siege on Sunday as “the most horrific form of ethnic cleansing, displacement and destruction” that has affected hundreds of thousands in the war-ravaged area.

Reporting from Deir el-Balah in central Gaza, Al Jazeera’s Hind Khoudary said northern Gaza was now a “ghost area” of massive destruction and rubble, but some people had managed to survive there, refusing to leave.

“We see that Palestinians are systematically targeted in every single place in the Gaza Strip. It doesn’t matter where you are – whether you’re in a school, a shelter, a makeshift camp or even a hospital,” she said.

Kamal Adwan Hospital, the foremost health facility in the North, was burned and destroyed by Israeli forces in late December as part of a siege, and the fate of its arrested director, Hussam Abu Safia, remains unknown.

While Israeli politicians and settler groups are openly discussing the prospects the construction of settlements in the north of Gazathe siege shows no signs of ending.

Israeli forces killed two Palestinians in the Mukhabarat area of ​​northern Gaza City, witnesses said Sunday afternoon. Fire from Israeli drones later killed a young man in the Shati refugee camp.

During the night, there were heavy Israeli attacks on the northwestern areas of Gaza City. At least eight Palestinians were killed Saturday when the Israeli army directly hit another school-turned-shelter in Jabalia, northern Gaza, calling it a Hamas “command and control center.”

At least 70 children killed in five days

Relentless attacks also target others areas throughout the enclave many times each dayand some of the latter hit the Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza.

The Israeli army issued another forced evacuation order on Sunday, targeting people living in apartment blocks in the northern part of the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza. Residents were told they would risk death if they did not leave the area.

The Gaza Civil Defense announced on Sunday that the Israeli army had killed at least 70 children across the enclave in the past five days alone.

The escalation of Israeli attacks comes after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu authorized the heads of the Mossad and Shin Bet spy and security agencies to travel to Qatar along with other top officials to advance talks on the release of prisoners held in Gaza and Palestinian prisoners.

But Israeli leaders have stressed that the war will not end even if an agreement is reached and that they will maintain military control of the enclave even as they continue occupy the West Banklarge parts of Syria and areas in southern Lebanon.

Despite another major protest against the Israeli government and for the deal in Tel Aviv on Saturday night, far-right administration ministers remain opposed.

On Sunday, Netanyahu sought to ensure that Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir did not threaten the stability of his ruling coalition by leaving it in the event of a deal.

Humanitarian crisis and mental health crisis

The humanitarian situation in Gaza remains dire, as the Israeli military continues to block most aid from entering, creating a precarious situation that is enabled the armed robbery of an aid convoy.

Thousands of families are forced to brave the open air or huddle in dilapidated tents amid famine-like conditions across Gaza as Israeli forces continue to raid hospitals and order them to evacuate.

According to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), nearly all of Gaza’s 1.1 million children need mental health and psychosocial support amid ongoing Israeli bombardment, re-displacement and catastrophic living conditions in the winter cold.

The UN estimates that at least 19,000 Palestinian children have been orphaned since the start of the Gaza war, which is now in its 16th month.

At least 203 journalists have been killed by the Israeli army since the start of the war, including several in the new year.

Israel has so far killed at least 46,565 Palestinians and wounded 109,660, 28 of whom were killed last day, Gaza’s Health Ministry said on Sunday.