Jerusalem, Aug 30 (UNI) Israel’s military declared Gaza City a “dangerous combat zone” ahead of a major assault, as it recovered the body of one hostage and the remains of another in Gaza on Friday.
Israel said there will no longer be “tactical pauses” of military activity in Gaza City, reports CNN.
The pauses began a month ago as international outrage grew over the worsening humanitarian crisis and starvation in the battered enclave. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said at the time that the 10-hour pauses were for “humanitarian purposes.”
But when the Israeli security cabinet approved the takeover and occupation of Gaza City earlier this month, they made clear there would be no aid distribution sites within the city itself, forcing people to leave in search of food.
Israel has already begun pounding the outskirts of Gaza City, striking neighborhoods on the edge of the densely packed area ahead of an assault on the center of the city. The attacks on adjacent neighborhoods have forced Palestinians to flee deeper inside Gaza City, according to Dr. Munir al-Bursh, the Director-General of the Palestinian Ministry of Health.
Further north, the Hamad Hospital said on Friday that it received 11 bodies of people who “were shot by the Israeli occupation army in the northern Gaza Strip” as they waited for aid. Another 100 people were injured in the gunfire, the hospital said.
“The Israeli occupation continues to target residential blocks through airstrikes, quadcopter attacks, and the detonation of explosive robots in neighborhoods,” said Faris Afaneh, the director of ambulance and emergency services in northern Gaza.
The attacks have killed and injured Palestinians, and forced people to evacuate in “this massive and unprecedented campaign”, Afaneh said.
There had been multiple Israeli strikes in the neighborhoods around Gaza City, he added.
On Thursday, Israeli drones dropped leaflets over several areas in and around Gaza City, warning residents of
Gaza City and Jabalya area to evacuate immediately south from Wadi Gaza for their safety, as the Israeli army
was expanding its operations towards the West, residents told CNN.
The death toll in Gaza has reached 63,025 people, with a further 159,490 injured since the war began, according to the latest update from the Palestinian Ministry of Health.
Meanwhile, on Friday, Israel’s military also recovered the body of one hostage and the remains of another in Gaza.
The recovered body was identified as Ilan Weiss (56, from Kibbutz Be’eri), and the remains of the other
hostage have yet to be identified, the Prime Minister’s Office said.
After the recovery of the two deceased hostages, there are now 48 hostages remaining in Gaza, 20 of whom
are believed to be alive.
Israel declares Gaza City ‘dangerous combat zone’ as it recovers remains of 2 hostages
