Israeli strikes in northern Gaza have reportedly killed at least 30 people, while fleeing Palestinians report dire conditions

Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip – Israeli strikes killed at least 30 people in Gaza, including at a house where displaced families were taking shelter, health officials in the Hamas-controlled Palestinian territory said Tuesday. Ten people were killed early Tuesday, including four children and two women, and an attack late Monday in the northern Gaza town of Beit Lahiya killed at least 20 people, including eight women and six children, according to health authorities.

The Israeli military said it attacked a weapons depot in the northern Gaza Strip from which a militant was operating and that “numerous steps were taken to reduce the risk of harm to civilians.”

Israel has been waging a massive offensive for nearly a month in northern Gaza, already the most isolated and devastated part of the territory.

Despite growing pressure from the United States and other members of the international community for ceasefires in Gaza and Lebanon, the pressure intensified Israeli strikes against the militant Hezbollah group are expanding beyond Lebanon’s border areas as Israel continues to fight Lebanon War against Hamas in Gaza, there is no end in sight.

Since the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah erupted in 2023, when the Iran-backed Lebanese group began firing rockets into Israel in support of Hamas, at least 3,000 people have been killed and about 13,500 injured in Lebanon, according to the country’s health ministry.

According to Palestinian health authorities, more than 43,000 people have died in Israel’s more than year-long war against Hamas in Gaza. The Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza does not distinguish between civilian and militant casualties, but says more than half of those killed were women and children.

The war was sparked by the storming of Israel by Hamas and allied militants on October 7, 2023, in which about 1,200 people – mostly civilians – were killed and 250 others were kidnapped.

Fleeing Palestinians describe the dire conditions in northern Gaza

Dozens of Palestinians streamed south from war-ravaged northern Gaza on Tuesday, saying they had barely eaten in days Help cut off to the area for a long time under heavy Israeli bombardment.

In the far northern town of Beit Lahiya, women and children in particular carried backpacks and schoolbags filled with belongings as they walked along a street where every building had been completely flattened or partially destroyed.

“We came barefoot. We have no sandals, no clothes, nothing. We don’t have any money. There is no food or drink,” said Huda Abu Laila, who was traveling to Gaza City with the others.

“We are hungry. Hunger killed us. We were besieged for a month without water or food,” the gaunt elderly women continued before breaking into tears.

Israel launched its new offensive in the northern Gaza Strip in early October, focusing on Jabaliya, a densely populated, decades-old urban refugee camp where Hamas had reportedly regrouped.

The United Nations estimated last week that about 100,000 people were still in the affected area. It is said that no aid has reached the far north of the Palestinian territory for weeks. On Monday, Gaza’s Ministry of Health said there were currently no ambulances or emergency teams operating north of Gaza City.

Israel has repeatedly issued evacuation warnings for the entire northern Gaza Strip, including Gaza City, where several hundred thousand more Palestinians are staying.