Israel killed atleast 400 people in two-week assault on northern Gaza

The actual death toll may be higher, according to Gaza's civil defence agency, as "there are dozens of bodies scattered in the streets of Jabalia".
An Israeli strike hit a tent area in the courtyard of Al Aqsa Martyrs hospital in Deir al Balah causing fire and burning several patients to death.
An Israeli strike hit a tent area in the courtyard of Al Aqsa Martyrs hospital in Deir al Balah causing fire and burning several patients to death. Photo | AP
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Gaza's civil defence agency said on Saturday that the continuous Israeli military operation has killed more than 400 people in two weeks in the territory's north.

Civil defence agency spokesman Mahmud Bassal said that "we have recovered more than 400 martyrs from the various targeted areas in the northern Gaza Strip", including Jabalia and its refugee camp, since the Israeli operation began.

The actual death toll may be higher, Bassal told AFP, as "there are dozens of bodies scattered in the streets of Jabalia".

Hamas ally Hezbollah has vowed to intensify attacks on Israel weeks into an all-out war that erupted on September 23, launching on Saturday rocket barrages at Israel's north, where rescuers said one man was killed by shrapnel.

According to the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a drone attack from Lebanon targeted his residence in the coastal town of Caesarea, though the family were not there at the time and there were no injuries.

The latest attacks come as Hamas, Hezbollah and allied Iran-backed groups in the region have vowed to keep fighting after Israeli troops killed the Palestinian movement's leader Yahya Sinwar in Gaza, more than a year into the war triggered by Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack.

Analysts said Sinwar, accused of masterminding the October 7 attack on Israel, was pivotal to ending the Gaza war and securing the release of Israeli hostages.

Israel's war in Gaza has so far killed at least 42,519 people in Gaza, mostly civilians including more than 17000 children and 11400 women.

Israel has faced mounting criticism over the civilian toll and lack of food and aid reaching Gaza, where the UN has warned of famine.

As fighting raged on in northern Gaza, witnesses told AFP that air strikes continued to pound the area during the day.

Medics said Israeli forces were shelling the Indonesian Hospital in north Gaza. The military reported troops operating near the facility but said "no intentional fire" was directed at it.

"Another 20,000 people were forced to flee Jabalia camp" on Friday, said the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA.

On social media platform X, UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini reported "critical shortage of fuel and medical supplies... in the last remaining hospitals".

Israel has said its forces were targeting "terrorists embedded inside civilian areas", while accusing Hamas of preventing residents from fleeing.

The Israeli army said it had killed "dozens of terrorists" in the operation since October 6, which aid agencies warned was leading to a fresh humanitarian crisis.

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