Palestinians flee Israeli attacks on Gaza City as protests mount against occupation plan
Gaza’s civil defence agency said at least 40 people were killed in Israeli attacks across the territory on Saturday
Thousands of Palestinians fled Gaza City's Zeitoun neighbourhood on Saturday after days of Israeli air strikes and shelling, the Hamas-run municipality said, describing the situation as "catastrophic."
Gaza's civil defence agency said at least 40 people were killed in Israeli attacks across the territory on Saturday, says the BBC. The neighbourhood, home to about 50,000 people, has little access to food and water, the agency said.
A spokesperson for the municipality said six days of bombardment had driven a mass displacement from Zeitoun. Ghassan Kashko, 40, who is sheltering in a school building, told AFP that "explosions… that don't stop" were shaking the area. "We don't know the taste of sleep," he said.
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Hamas said Israeli forces were conducting a "sustained offensive in the eastern and southern neighbourhoods of Gaza City, particularly in Zeitoun."
Israel's military body Cogat said aid agencies would again be permitted to bring tents into Gaza. "As part of the preparations to move the population from combat zones to the southern Gaza Strip for their protection, the supply of tents and shelter equipment to Gaza will resume," it said.
Israeli plans and domestic protests
Israel's government has approved plans to displace Gaza City's population to camps in the south and place the city under Israeli occupation, a decision condemned by the UN Security Council last week.
The government has not announced a timetable for its forces to move into Gaza City. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is reported to want the city fully under occupation from 7 October.
In Israel, families of hostages and other groups have called a one-day general strike on Sunday to oppose the Gaza City plan, saying the expansion of the war puts hostages held by Hamas at greater risk.
Humanitarian toll
The Gaza City municipality said 80% of the city's infrastructure had been damaged over nearly two years of conflict. Four hospitals remain operational, but at less than 20% capacity due to shortages of medicines and supplies.
The UN says 1.9 million people in Gaza, or about 90% of the population, are displaced. Aid experts have warned that the "worst-case scenario" of famine is unfolding.
Gaza's health ministry said hospitals reported 11 more deaths from malnutrition on Saturday, including a child, bringing the total to 251 deaths, 108 of them children.
The University Hospital of Pisa in Italy said a 20-year-old Gazan woman evacuated for treatment, Marah Abu Zuhri, died on Friday from cardiac arrest. She had been severely malnourished, the hospital said.
The UK, EU, Australia, Canada and Japan said this week that "famine is unfolding in front of our eyes" and called for urgent action. More than 100 humanitarian organisations said they had been unable to deliver aid to Gaza since March 2, reports the BBC.
Israel has sharply restricted aid flows, but denies famine, saying UN agencies have not collected supplies at the border.
Civilian casualties
Gaza's civil defence agency said 13 people were shot dead by Israeli troops on Saturday while waiting for food near distribution sites. UN figures released on Friday estimate at least 1,760 Palestinians have been killed since late May while seeking food, mostly by Israeli forces.
The conflict began after Hamas's Oct. 7, 2023 attack on Israel, which killed about 1,200 people and saw 251 taken hostage. Israel's subsequent offensive has killed more than 61,000 Palestinians, according to the Gaza health ministry, figures the UN regards as credible.
