Israeli forces have launched a major military operation in the Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza, laying waste to residential areas with tank and air bombardments. The offensive, which began almost two weeks ago, has resulted in the deaths of at least 85 people and 200 injuries in the last 24 hours alone, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.
Residents of Jabalia reported that Israeli bulldozers were used to clear shops and property near the local market, as the army sought to prevent Hamas from regrouping in the camp where it had previously claimed to have dismantled the group months ago. Health authorities and the Gaza Civil Emergency Service stated that dozens of bodies were trapped under the rubble of houses and on the roads, but rescue teams were unable to reach them.
In the southern city of Rafah, airstrikes killed at least five people, including three children, in a house. East of Khan Younis, residents of Khuzaa town were forced to flee after Israeli troops began an incursion on the eastern edge of the territory, bulldozing across the border fence ongoing violence has prompted calls for a calming of the situation in Gaza, as the US envoy to Jerusalem, Jack Lew, suggested that forging formal Israeli-Saudi relations as part of an emerging trilateral deal involving Washington would require a period of quiet in Gaza and a discussion of prospects for Palestinian governance.
Lew stated that while there would need to be a conversation about how to deal with the question of the future of Palestinian governance, the strategic benefit of the deal was worth taking the risk. The situation in Gaza remains dire, with residents facing the devastating consequences of the ongoing conflict. As the international community calls for a ceasefire and a resolution to the crisis, the people of Gaza continue to suffer the consequences of the violence.