Israeli Strikes Kill 33 People in Jabalia Refugee Camp in Gaza, Medics Say

CAIRO (Reuters) - At least 33 people were killed and 85 wounded in Israeli strikes that hit several houses on Friday 18 October 2024 in Jabalia, the largest of Gaza's eight historic refugee camps, medics said, where residents said tanks blew up roads and houses.

The Hamas-run Gaza government media office said the death toll from the strikes could rise because some people were believed to be trapped under the rubble, and the Palestinian official news agency WAFA said children were among those killed. There was no immediate Israeli comment.

Other Israeli strikes killed at least 39 Palestinians across Gaza on Friday, 20 of them in Jabalia, the Gaza health ministry said.

Residents of Jabalia said Israeli tanks had reached the heart of the camp after pushing through suburbs and residential districts. They said the Israeli army was destroying dozens of houses daily, from the air and the ground, and by placing bombs in buildings then detonating them remotely.

The Israeli military said its forces, which have been operating in Jabalia for the past two weeks, killed dozens of militants in close-quarters combat on Thursday, carried out aerial strikes, and dismantled military infrastructure.

On Thursday Israel said it had killed the country's number one enemy, Hamas chief Yahya Sinwar, whom it blamed for ordering the 7 October attack on Israel - the deadliest in the history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

The Israeli military says its operation in Jabalia is intended to stop Hamas fighters regrouping for more attacks.

Residents said Israeli forces had effectively isolated the far northern Gazan towns of Beit Hanoun, Jabalia, and Beit Lahiya from Gaza City, blocking movement except for those families heeding evacuation orders and leaving the three towns.

They said communications and internet services had been cut, disrupting rescue operations.

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On Friday, health officials appealed for fuel, medical supplies and food to be sent immediately to three northern Gaza hospitals overwhelmed by the number of patients and injuries.

At the Kamal Adwan Hospital, medics said they had to replace children in intensive care with more critical cases of adults badly wounded by Israeli airstrikes on a school sheltering displaced Palestinians in Jabalia on Thursday. Israel said it had targeted militants holed up in the complex. Kamal Adwan's director, Hussam Abu Safiya, said in a video sent to media that the children had been moved to another division inside the facility, where they were being cared for. He said medical staff were exhausted and hospital supplies, including food, were badly depleted.  

Israel said it sent about 30 truckloads of aid into northern Gaza on Friday, including food, water, medical supplies, and shelter equipment. "We're fighting Hamas, we're not fighting the people of Gaza," military spokesperson Nadav Shoshani told journalists in an online briefing. 

Hamas and health officials say the aid has not been reaching the worst affected areas, including the three isolated towns.

Philippe Lazzarini, head of the UN Palestinian refugee agency UNRWA, said on X that the attack on the school was the third on an UNRWA facility this week, and that the agency had lost 231 team members in the past year of fighting.

Northern Gaza, which had been home to well over half the territory's 2.3 million people, was bombed to rubble in the first phase of Israel's assault a year ago.

Israel began its military campaign after the 7 October attacks on southern Israel by Hamas-led fighters, who killed 1,200 people and captured 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.

More than 42,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel's offensive so far, according to Gaza's health authorities.