Intense Israeli Bombardment In Northern Gaza Reported

Residents in northern Gaza reported intense Israeli bombardment on Saturday, hours after airstrikes killed at least 22 people. Israel continued urging people in northern Gaza and southern Lebanon to evacuate amid ongoing offensives against the Hamas and Hezbollah militant groups.

In Lebanon, the United Nations peacekeeping force announced that its Naqoura headquarters was hit again, with a peacekeeper injured by gunfire late Friday, though it was unclear who was responsible. The incident occurred a day after Israeli forces targeted the headquarters for the second consecutive day. Israel, which had previously advised the peacekeepers to leave, did not immediately comment on the incident.

No aid received

Meanwhile, concerns about hunger resurfaced as northern Gaza residents stated they hadn’t received aid since the beginning of the month. The U.N. World Food Program confirmed that no food aid had entered northern Gaza since October 1, with an estimated 400,000 people still in the area.

Israel intensified its northern Gaza offensive nearly a week ago, while also escalating attacks on Hezbollah in Lebanon. Lebanon’s National News Agency reported that an Israeli airstrike hit an apartment building in the Zarout area near Barja, killing four, according to the Health Ministry. A separate airstrike on the village of Maisra claimed five more lives.

The conflict between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon has resulted in 2,255 deaths over the past year, based on figures from Lebanon’s Health Ministry. Hezbollah continues to launch attacks on Israel.

People trapped in homes in Northern Gaza

During a visit to the site of an Israeli airstrike in Beirut, Iran’s parliamentary speaker, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, expressed continued support for the Lebanese and Palestinian people during these difficult times.

In northern Gaza, residents conveyed to The Associated Press that many were trapped in their homes and shelters with dwindling supplies, while the bombing prevented emergency responders from recovering bodies in the streets.

The latest deadly airstrikes in Jabaliya left a crater 20 meters deep where a house once stood. At least 20 bodies were recovered by Saturday morning, with more likely trapped under the rubble, according to emergency service officials. Another strike on a home killed two brothers and injured a woman and a newborn. Later that afternoon, a separate strike claimed four more lives, including that of a woman.

Israel plans to continue its offensive

Israel’s military did not immediately comment on these strikes. However, military spokesperson Avichay Adraee urged residents of parts of Jabaliya and Gaza City to evacuate to a humanitarian zone in the south, as Israel planned to continue its offensive with significant force.

The ongoing conflict has caused widespread destruction in Gaza, displacing around 90% of its 2.3 million residents. Despite this, many families, moving on foot or by donkey carts, refuse to leave. Some likened the situation to the early days of the war, with one resident, Ahmed Abu Goneim, stating that Israeli forces were doing everything to uproot them, but they would not leave. Abu Goneim noted that 15 of his relatives and neighbors, including women and children, had been killed in the past week.

The World Food Program expressed uncertainty about how long the limited food supplies distributed earlier in northern Gaza would last. Last month, a U.N. investigator accused Israel of conducting a “starvation campaign” against Palestinians, a claim Israel denied.

Israel’s offensive followed Hamas’ October 7 attack, in which militants killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducted about 250 others. Gaza health authorities reported over 42,000 Palestinian deaths, though they did not distinguish between combatants and civilians. Gaza’s Health Ministry confirmed that 49 bodies had been brought to hospitals in the past 24 hours.

Read More: No Food Has Entered Northern Gaza Since The Start Of October