About 150,000 Palestinians are being forced to leave the refugee camps in the center of Gaza as Israeli forces enter them.
Eyewitnesses and the armed wing of Hamas reported that Israeli tanks moved towards the eastern part of the Buraij refugee camp. The Israeli military has recently expanded its ground operations mainly targeting Buraiz and the neighboring Nuseirat and Maghazi refugee camps.
The Hamas-run health ministry said several people were killed across Gaza on Thursday in Israeli bombardments.
The war began on October 7 following a cross-border attack by Hamas gunmen in southern Israel. The attack killed 1,200 people, most of whom were civilians. Besides, 240 people were taken hostage. According to the Ministry of Health, 21,300 people, mostly women and children, have been killed in Gaza in the last 11 weeks of war.
The Israeli military announced the evacuation of a wide area of the valley. These areas include the Buraij and Nuseirat refugee camps in central Gaza. About 90,000 residents of the area and 61,000 homeless residents have been told to move to the southern city of Deir al-Balah.
Meanwhile, the United Nations warned on Thursday that they have nowhere to go because Deir al-Balah is already full to the brim. Thousands of displaced people have taken shelter there.
Omar, 60, said he was forced to flee Buraij camp with at least 35 other members of his family. “The time has come, I thought it would never happen, but it seems displacement is inevitable,” he told Reuters by phone. We are now living in a tent in Deir al-Balah because of this brutal Israeli war.
Tom White, UN aid agency UNRWA’s Gaza director, said more people were being pushed into the southern Gaza town of Rafah. “That means more people are coming into a very small valley that it can’t hold.”
On Thursday evening, Gaza’s health ministry said 20 people were killed in an Israeli airstrike on a building in Rafah. Displaced residents took shelter in that building.
At least 50 people were killed in an Israeli airstrike in the city of Maghazi, Gaza’s health ministry spokesman announced Thursday morning. The city is located north of Beit Lahia and south of Khan Yunis.
The worst incident occurred in Beit Lahiya. Palestinian media say at least 30 people were killed when four residential buildings were destroyed there.
Local television journalist Basel Kheir al-Din told The Associated Press that 12 members of his family were trapped under the rubble of one of the buildings and were all presumed dead. Besides, their 9 neighbors are also missing.
The Palestinian Red Crescent said at least 10 were killed in Israeli shelling at a residential building near Al Amal Hospital in Khan Younis. Another similar incident took place in front of this hospital the day before, in which around 31 people died.
Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, the chief spokesman for the Israeli Defense Forces, told reporters on Wednesday that the city was “a major center of terrorist activity by Hamas.”
He said that the Israeli army is fighting in Bureiz area for the third day. He added that they were “destroying many terrorist and terrorist infrastructures.”
Residents told Reuters news agency that heavy fighting continued on Thursday. Israeli tanks are entering the densely populated Buraij camp from the north and east. Hamas posted a video showing Hamas fighters targeting Israeli troops and vehicles.
The IDF, on the other hand, said it regretted the “civilian casualties” during Sunday’s airstrikes in Maghaji. At least 70 people were killed in the attack, according to Gaza’s health ministry.
The warplanes “hit two targets next to which Hamas fighters were positioned,” a statement said.
Thousands of teenagers took part in a protest in Israel demanding new steps to return hundreds of hostages still held by Hamas and other armed groups in Gaza. Many of them are members of the communities most affected by the October 7 attacks.
Negotiations are underway for a new contract. Under this agreement, a temporary cease-fire was made to allow more hostages to be rescued. Last month, 105 hostages were rescued through such a deal. However, Hamas has already stated publicly that it will only negotiate a full ceasefire.
According to a report, the United Nations has verified reports of 300 Palestinian deaths at the hands of West Bank residents and Israeli forces since October 7.
A spokesman for the Israeli prime minister dismissed the report as “ridiculous” and said it would downplay a major security threat to Israelis.
