GAZA CITY, Palestine: Israeli forces pushed deeper into Gaza City on Friday, unleashing air and ground attacks that killed 20 more people since dawn, as the Palestinian death toll from nearly two years of war surpassed 65,000, the besieged Palestinian territory’s health authorities said.
The Health Ministry in Gaza said at least 65,174 people have been killed and 166,071 wounded since Israel launched its offensive in October 2023.
A ministry statement said that 33 bodies were brought to hospitals in the last 24 hours, while 146 people were wounded.
“Many victims are still trapped under the rubble and on the roads as rescuers are unable to reach them,” it added.
The ministry also noted that one Palestinian was killed and over 17 were wounded while trying to get food in the last 24 hours, bringing the total number of Palestinians killed while seeking aid to 2,514, with over 18,431 others wounded since May 27.
The ministry said that four more Palestinians, including a child, died of Israeli-enforced starvation in the last 24 hours. This brought the famine-linked death toll since October 2023 to 440 people, including 147 children.
Al Aqsa preacher barred
Israeli police arrested Sheikh Mohammad Sarandah, the Khateeb (preacher) of Al-Aqsa Mosque, shortly after he delivered the weekly Friday sermon.
According to the Jerusalem Islamic Waqf, Sheikh Sarandah was later released, but authorities issued a one-week ban preventing him from entering the mosque. The Waqf noted in a brief statement that the ban is renewable, though no reason was given for his arrest.
Israel army says will use ‘unprecedented force’
The Israeli military has issued a stark warning that it will operate with “unprecedented force” in Gaza City, urging residents to evacuate southwards. At the same time, it announced the closure of a temporary evacuation corridor that had been open for the past 48 hours.
In a message posted on X (formerly Twitter), the Israeli military’s Arabic-language spokesperson, Avichay Adraee, informed Gaza City residents:
“As of now, Salah al-Din Road is closed for southbound movement. The Israel Defense Forces will continue to act with unprecedented force against Hamas and other terrorist groups.”
He stated that the only available route south is now via Al-Rashid Street, urging civilians to use it while they still can.
“Take this opportunity and join the hundreds of thousands who have already moved to the designated humanitarian area in the south,” he added.
Gaza is burning and the world is watching
Khalil al-Daqran, spokesperson for Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in central Gaza’s Deir el-Balah, says Israel’s policy of starvation is continuing “with children dying first” as well as pregnant women and the elderly.
Speaking to Al Jazeera, he said the situation is “very tragic,” especially after Israeli forces stepped up assaults in the north of the enclave and in Gaza City, forcing hundreds of thousands to flee.
“Most Palestinians in the north of the Gaza Strip are without food, water, and electricity, and the healthcare sector is not equipped to handle the crisis,” al-Daqran said. “Gaza is burning and the world is watching.”
Al-Daqran said people in the north “prefer death to fleeing south” as there is no space or public services there.
The United States once again wielded its veto and thwarted a UN Security Council call for a ceasefire in Gaza, shielding its ally Israel from meaningful diplomatic pressure.
US vetoes UN Security Council Gaza ceasefire
Meanwhile, the 14 other members of the Council backed the resolution, initiated in August in response to the UN’s official declaration of famine after nearly two years of Israel’s war on Hamas in the Palestinian territory.
After the vote on Thursday, the Palestinian Ambassador to the United Nations, Riyad Mansour said the US veto was “deeply regrettable” and had prevented “the Security Council from playing its rightful role in the face of these atrocities and to protect civilians in the face of genocide.”
