CrossFireArabia
Palestinians fleeing Beit Lahiya on foot have described Israeli soldiers forcing men to strip to their underwear and bodies left lying in the streets as Israeli army enters its 19th day of implementing the Generals’ Plan, which has been deemed a roadmap for ethnic cleansing.
CrossFireArabia
Testimony from Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) orthopaedic surgeon, Dr Mohammed Obeid, sheltering in Kamal Adwan hospital, north Gaza – gathered on 22 October 2024.
“There is death in all types and forms in Kamal Adwan hospital and north Gaza. The bombardment does not stop. The artillery does not stop. The planes do not stop. There is heavy shelling, and the hospital is targeted too. It just looks like a movie; it does not seem real.
About five days ago, my house was hit. They completely blew up the roof and water tanks, but we were at the ground floor and only one person got injured, thank God. We left a few times, moving to different areas, my family and neighbours were terrified. I sheltered in Kamal Adwan hospital with my wife and children, and I am now working here, where I can treat numerous patients.
There are no words to describe the situation in Kamal Adwan hospital: it is disastrous. The hospital is completely overwhelmed. There are injured people everywhere, outside and inside the hospital, and we do not have medical and surgical equipment to treat them.
Ambulances cannot move. We cannot reach the bodies of the people killed and cannot save the injured ones who lie in the streets. Many of them died before reaching the hospital, and others died inside the hospital as we could not treat their wounds.
We have 30 people dead inside the hospital, and around 130 injured patients who need urgent medical care. Medical staff are exhausted, and many are injured as well. We feel hopeless. I just don’t have words.
We call on all the countries in the world to consider north Gaza, and to lift the blockade that has led to the death of so many people.”
CrossFireArabia
The Israeli army detected the launch of 25 rockets from Lebanon into northern Israel on Wednesday in a matter of two minutes.
A military statement said air-raid sirens sounded in Haifa Bay, Acre, and the settlements of Kiryat Shmona and Metula in northern Israel.
The army said the rocket barrage was fired in just two minutes, with most of the projectiles intercepted while others fell in open areas.
No injuries or damage were reported.
The army said its air defenses also intercepted four combat drones, without mentioning from where they were fired.
Hezbollah, for its part, confirmed that it had fired a barrage of rockets toward the Glilot base of the Israeli army’s military intelligence unit 8200 near Tel Aviv in central Israel.
The Israeli army said that it intercepted two long-range rockets fired from Lebanon towards Tel Aviv.
Israel has mounted a huge air campaign in Lebanon since last month against what it claims are Hezbollah targets in an escalation from a year of cross-border warfare between Israel and the group since the start of Israel’s brutal offensive on Gaza according to Anadolu.
At least 2,546 people have been killed and more than 11,860 injured in Israeli attacks since October last year, according to Lebanese health authorities.
Israel expanded the conflict on Oct. 1 this year by launching a ground assault into southern Lebanon.
CrossFireArabia
Severe famine is spreading in southern Gaza due to the intensified Israeli blockade and attacks, preventing the entry of essential food supplies.
Israel has permitted only four out of 66 planned humanitarian aid missions to northern Gaza during the first 20 days of October, with no food aid allowed for 14 days, the UN humanitarian office (OCHA) said.
OCHA spokesman Jens Laerke detailed a severe deterioration in humanitarian access, revealing that Israeli authorities rejected 28 requests and blocked seven others for coordinated aid movements to Beit Hanoun, Jabalia, and Beit Lahiya regions in northern Gaza.
“For the first two weeks of October, 85% of the movements (aid attempts) were denied,” Laerke told Anadolu in a written response, highlighting the increasingly dire situation in northern Gaza.
During a visit on Oct. 19, an OCHA team found extreme overcrowding in northern Gaza, with some displaced persons forced to live in restrooms due to severe shelter shortages, Laerke said.
Laerke described a particularly challenging incident where a joint team from the UN, an international NGO, and the Palestine Red Crescent Society made nine attempts before finally reaching Kamal Adwan and Al-Sahaba Maternity hospitals on Oct. 12, facing multiple rejections and obstacles from Israeli forces.
The humanitarian crisis has deepened following Israel’s ground operations in Rafah, with aid deliveries dropping dramatically. “For all entry points, the daily average of humanitarian truckloads in September (54) was only a third of what it was in April (165),” Laerke noted.
Distribution of the limited aid faces multiple obstacles, including damaged roads, forced displacement blocking main supply routes, rejected coordination requests, overcrowding, and lack of public order.
“Gaza is also the world’s most dangerous place for the UN and its partners to operate,” Laerke emphasized, citing the deaths of 300 colleagues and the bombing of warehouses. He added that roads are damaged and littered with unexploded ordnance.
Despite these challenging conditions, humanitarian workers continue their efforts to deliver life-saving assistance to Palestinians in Gaza wherever possible, though the situation remains critically undersupplied and increasingly dangerous for aid workers, Laerke said.
The Israeli army has continued a devastating offensive on the Gaza Strip since a Hamas attack last year, despite a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire.
More than 42,700 people have since been killed, mostly women and children, and over 100,300 others injured, according to local health authorities.
The Israeli onslaught on Gaza has displaced almost the territory’s entire population amid an ongoing blockade that has led to severe shortages of food, clean water, and medicine.
Israel faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its actions in Gaza.
