Israel’s siege of northern Gaza leaves 5,000 dead, missing after 100 days | Israel-Palestine Conflicts News

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 intensified amid talks on a possible mediated deal between Israel and Hamas.

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

The Government Media Office in Gaza on Sunday described Israel’s siege as “a horrific form of ethnic cleansing, displacement and destruction” that has affected hundreds of thousands in the war-torn region.

Reporting from Deir el-Balah in central Gaza, Al Jazeera’s Hind Khoudary said northern Gaza is now a “ghost” of massive destruction and debris, but some people have managed to stay alive there, refusing to leave.

“We see Palestinians being systematically targeted in all areas across the Gaza Strip. It doesn’t matter where you are – if you are in a school, a shelter, a temporary camp or even a hospital,” he said.

Kamal Adwan Hospital, a prominent health center in the north, was burned and destroyed by Israeli forces in late December as part of the siege, and the fate of its imprisoned director Hussam Abu Safia remains unknown.

As Israeli politicians and settler groups openly discuss the prospect of building settlements in northern Gaza, the siege shows no signs of stopping.

Israeli forces killed two Palestinians in the Mukhabarat neighborhood north of Gaza City, witnesses said on Sunday afternoon. Israeli drone fire later killed a young man in the Shati refugee camp.

During the night, there was a heavy Israeli attack on the northwest areas of Gaza City. At least 8 Palestinians were killed on Saturday when Israeli forces attacked another Jabalia neighborhood in northern Gaza, which it called a “control center” of Hamas.

At least 70 children were killed in five days

Incessant attacks also target other areas across the enclave several times a day, one of the latest hitting the Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza.

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

The Gaza Civil Defense announced on Sunday that Israeli forces have killed at least 70 children across the territory in the past five days alone.

The escalation in Israeli attacks comes as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu authorized the heads of the Mossad and Shin Bet security agencies to travel to Qatar along with other high-ranking representatives to advance talks on the release of prisoners held in Gaza and Palestine.

But Israeli leaders have insisted that the war will not end even if an agreement is reached, and that they will continue to control the military in the area, as they continue to occupy the West Bank, large parts of Syria and areas of southern Lebanon.

Despite another large demonstration against the Israeli government and in favor of the agreement in Tel Aviv on Saturday night, the administration’s food ministers are still at odds.

Netanyahu was moving on Sunday 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 an agreement.

Personal health and mental health issues

The humanitarian situation in Gaza remains dire, for now, as Israeli forces continue to block most aid from entering while creating an insecure environment that has allowed armed looting of aid supplies.

Thousands of families have been forced to brave the outdoors or hunker down in dilapidated tents amid famine-like conditions across Gaza as Israeli forces continue to attack hospitals and order them to evacuate.

According to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), almost all of Gaza’s 1.1 million children need emotional and psychological support amid Israeli bombardment, repeated 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 16-month war in Gaza.

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

Israel has killed at least 46,565 Palestinians and injured 109,660 so far, with 28 killed in the previous day, the Gaza Health Ministry said on Sunday.