By Nidal al-Mughrabi
(Reuters) -Some Palestinian civilians were fleeing their homes in northern Gaza on Wednesday just weeks after returning because of an Israeli bombardment which they said was as intense as those at the start of the war.
Much of the shelling was focused for a second day on Beit Lahiya on the northern edge of Gaza, where the Israeli military gave evacuation orders to four neighbourhoods on Tuesday, warning they were in a “dangerous combat zone”.
After weeks of relative calm, Israel intensified its attacks overnight on Monday, focusing on areas – particularly in the north – from where it had previously withdrawn troops, saying the Palestinian militant group Hamas was no longer in control.
Israel’s military said on Wednesday it was ready to launch a ground assault on the southern city of Rafah, which it regards as Hamas’ last bastion and which is the only part of Gaza not yet subjected to a ground offensive.
The operation will proceed when the military receives government approval, a senior defence official told Reuters.
Plans for an attack on the city, where more than 1 million people have been displaced, have caused widespread international concern. Aid agencies have warned of a potential humanitarian catastrophe and U.S. President Joe Biden has urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu not to invade Rafah.
Moving civilians out of harm’s way will be an important part of Israel’s strategy, a government spokesperson said.
Israel has said it will eradicate Hamas following the militant group’s rampage in southern Israel on Oct. 7 in which 1,200 people were killed and 253 were taken hostage, according to Israeli tallies.
The war, now in its seventh month, has killed over 34,000 Palestinians, and many more are feared buried in rubble. The offensive has laid to waste much of the enclave, displacing most of its 2.3 million people and creating a humanitarian crisis.
In the past 24 hours, Israeli strikes have killed at least 79 Palestinians and wounded 86, the Gaza Health Ministry said.
Two people were killed in a strike on a house in Rafah, four were killed when a missile hit a group standing outside a supermarket in the Al-Nuseirat refugee camp and one was killed in a strike on a house in Deir Al-Balah, central Gaza, Palestinian health officials said.
Residents in northern Gaza and suburbs of Gaza City reported heavy shelling.
“We don’t know why this is all happening. Is it because we returned home and we finally got some aid through after months of starvation and the Israelis didn’t like that?” said Mohammad Jamal, 29, a resident of Gaza City, near Zeitoun, one of Gaza’s oldest suburbs.
“It is as if the war started again. As if it is just happening, they burnt up the place,” he told Reuters via a chat app.
Asked about Wednesday’s developments, the Israeli military had no immediate comment.
SHELLING AND GUN BATTLES
Israel said its operations in Beit Lahiya targeted areas from where the armed wing of Hamas-aligned Islamic Jihad had fired rockets at two Israeli border settlements on Tuesday.
Additional targets, including operational tunnel shafts, military structures and a launcher containing rockets ready to be fired at Israel were also struck, the Israeli military said in a statement late on Tuesday.
On Wednesday, residents also reported shelling in central Gaza around Al-Nuseirat and Khan Younis, a city in the south from where troops withdrew earlier this month.
In one incident, Al-Nuseirat residents said an army helicopter landed near the camp and engaged in gun battles with fighters. The area then came under heavy tank fire.
Reuters was unable to independently confirm the report.
In the Nasser hospital complex, the main medical facility in the south, authorities said they had recovered more bodies from a mass grave found there, taking the total to 334.
Palestinians say Israeli troops buried corpses there with bulldozers to cover up crimes. The Israeli military said its troops dug up some bodies at the site and reburied them after testing to make sure no hostages were among them.
Asked about the army’s comments, Ismail Al-Thawabta, the director of the Hamas-run government media office, told Reuters many of the bodies that have been identified belonged to people who were alive when the army raided Nasser Hospital.
“Families of some of the martyrs (victims) also confirmed they had contacts with their relatives before the hospital was stormed. They were shocked to find that their sons were martyred and buried,” Thawabta said.
He said the bodies would have been in shallow graves to allow for reburial at a later date if the Palestinians had buried them. “The depth indicated those graves were dug by heavy machines such as bulldozers and other vehicles used by the occupation,” Thawabta told Reuters.
(Reporting by Nidal Al-Mughrabi in Cairo and James Mackenzie in Jerusalem, Writing by Sharon Singleton, Editing by Angus MacSwan and Timothy Heritage)
Disclaimer: This report is auto generated from the Reuters news service. ThePrint holds no responsibilty for its content.