UNITED NATIONS, Sep 21 (APP): Israeli attacks killed dozens of people overnight in Gaza City, as Israel ramps up its offensive there and orders Palestinians to leave the besieged enclave, according to media reports.
Along the densely populated coastal al-Rashid Road, thousands of residents are lining up to escape, following Israeli military evacuation orders, in a grueling trek to the central and southern parts of the enclave, UN News reported.
The strikes come as Western countries are increasingly outraged with the intensifying war in Gaza, with some moving to recognize Palestinian statehood at the gathering of world leaders at the United Nations General Assembly next week. In a statement Friday, Portugal’s Foreign Affairs Ministry said it will recognize a Palestinian state on Sunday.
Portugal is among other Western nations, including the U.K., France, Canada, Australia, Malta, Belgium and Luxembourg, expected to recognize Palestinian statehood in the coming days.
The latest Israeli operation, which started this week, further escalates a conflict that has roiled the Middle East and likely pushes any ceasefire further out of reach.
At least 61 people killed, including 49 in Gaza City, as Israeli forces continue to bombard Gaza.
The Palestinian Civil Defence says nearly half of Gaza City’s population, or about 450,000 people, have fled the area since Israel launched its major operation there in August.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres says Gaza is experiencing the “worst level of death and destruction” he has seen in his lifetime and calls on the international community not to be “intimidated” by Israel.
Israel’s war on Gaza has killed at least 65,208 people and wounded 166,271 since October 2023. Thousands more are believed to be buried under the rubble, with experts saying Gaza City is experiencing famine.”
In recent days, Israel has been ordering hundreds of thousands of Palestinians sheltering in Gaza City to move south to what it calls a humanitarian zone and opened another corridor south of Gaza City for two days this week to allow more people to evacuate.
Palestinians have streamed out of the city by car and on foot. But many in the famine-stricken city are unwilling to be uprooted again, too weak to leave or unable to afford the cost of moving.
On average, the journey south costs more than $3,000, according to UN Palestine refugee agency UNRWA, making it out of reach for many.
Aid groups have warned that forcing thousands of people to evacuate will exacerbate the dire humanitarian crisis. They are appealing for a ceasefire so aid can reach those who need it.
Families of hostages still held by Hamas accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday of condemning their loved ones to death by continuing to fight rather than negotiating an end to the war.
“The blood of our loved ones is, for him, nothing more than a political tool to cling to power,” they said in a statement read outside Netanyahu’s residence. “As long as there is war, Netanyahu has a government.”
Forty-eight hostages remain in Gaza.
Last month, Israel announced that it would take control of Gaza City and in recent weeks has intensified bombardment of high-rise apartment buildings there.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said more than 250,000 people have been displaced from the city in the past month alone, including 60,000 in just 72 hours, as troops advanced into densely populated neighbourhoods such as Sheikh Radwan and Tal al-Hawa.