Gaza’s Hamas-run civil defense agency says Israeli attacks killed at least 22 people today, warning that intensifying strikes on a Gaza City neighborhood were placing its remaining residents in mortal danger.
Civil defense spokesman Mahmud Bassal says conditions in the Zeitoun neighborhood were rapidly deteriorating, with residents having little to no access to food and water amid heavy Israeli bombardment.
He says that about 50,000 people are estimated to be in that area of Gaza City, “the majority of whom are without food or water” and lacking “the basic necessities of life.
Media restrictions in Gaza and difficulties accessing swaths of the Palestinian territory mean AFP is unable to independently verify the tolls and details provided by the civil defense agency, the Israeli military, and other sources.
In recent days, Gaza City residents have told AFP of more frequent air strikes targeting residential areas, including in Zeitun, while earlier this week, the Hamas terror group denounced “aggressive” Israeli ground incursions.
To Bassal, Israel was carrying out “ethnic cleansing” in Zeitun.
Israeli officials have dismissed similar accusations before, and the military insists it abides by international law.
According to the civil defense agency, at least 13 of the Palestinians killed today were shot by troops as they were waiting to collect food aid near distribution sites in the north and in the south.
BY: The Times Union – AFP
