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In northern Gaza, Israeli forces have trapped an estimated 100,000 civilians. According to the Palestinian Civil Emergency Service, the intense three-week Israeli assault on the region has left residents of Jabalia, Beit Lahiya, and Beit Hanoun without access to critical medical, food, and fuel supplies.
"While the world is busy with Lebanon and new nonsense talk about a few days of ceasefire (in Gaza), the Israeli occupation is wiping out north Gaza and displacing its people," lamented a resident of Jabalia.
The Israeli military claims its operations are aimed at eliminating regrouping Hamas fighters, saying soldiers captured around 100 suspected militants in a raid on the Kamal Adwan hospital in Jabalia. However, when it cones to Hamas and the local medics, they have denied any militant-like presence at that hospital.
The ministry of health is Gaza reported at least 19 people were killed by Israeli airstrikes and bombardment on Monday, 13 of them in the north. The emergency service said its own operations had ground to a halt due to the assault, leaving the trapped civilians increasingly isolated and vulnerable.
"At least one doctor, a nurse and two child patients had died in those hospitals due to a lack of treatment in the past week," the health ministry in Gaza reported on Monday, adding that only one paediatrician remained at the Kamal Adwan Hospital after Israel "detained and expelled" nearly 70 medical staff.
The situation has sparked renewed efforts to broker a ceasefire, with talks led by the US, Egypt, and Qatar resuming on Sunday. Egypt's president proposed an initial two-day truce to exchange prisoners, to be followed by negotiations on a permanent ceasefire within 10 days. However, Israel and Hamas have so far stuck to irreconcilable conditions.
A seemingly wider conflict in the region has also escalated, with Israel carrying out strikes across Lebanon and sending forces into the south to target Hezbollah, the Iran-backed ally of Hamas. This has raised global concerns about oil supply, after Israel and Iran exchanged missile attacks over the weekend.
As a cold, wet winter approaches, the plight of the trapped residents has become increasingly desperate. With hospitals crippled and supplies dwindling, the people of northern Gaza face an uncertain future, trapped in the crosshairs of a widening regional conflict.
