More than 19,000 Palestinians displaced amid Israel's 'Gideon's Chariots' operation
May 16 (UPI) -- Officials with the United Nations said Friday that more than 19,000 Palestinians had been displaced amid Israel's latest war offensive to seize increased control of Gaza, as human rights groups alleged that Israel is targeting civilians.
The blitz by Israel caused the death toll in Gaza to top 53,000 by Friday morning, the Hamas-run Civil Defense Agency said earlier in the day.
"Over 19,000 people forced to flee again since Thursday afternoon, according to the Site Management Cluster," the U.N.'s International Organization for Migration shared on social media. "Many with nothing but the clothes on their backs. Nowhere is safe in Gaza."
The Israeli Defense Forces said on social media that the extensive attacks to seize control of areas in Gaza is necessary to achieve "all the goals of the war," as it moves further from the ceasefire with Hamas that was intended to move into its second phase earlier this year.
The Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor, a human rights group, said Friday that Israel has adopted a "scorched earth policy" while "committing massacres," including "deliberate targeting of Palestinian civilians in their homes, shelters, and vital facilities."
The human rights group said its field team documented the killing of more than 115 Palestinians in North Gaza alone in less than 12 hours on Friday, including civilians who were killed as they tried to seek shelter from the bombardment.
"This was due to Israeli shelling that targeted at least 10 homes in Tal al-Zaatar in Jabalia and the al-Sultan neighborhood in Beit Lahia, completely destroying them over the heads of their residents," the human rights group said.
"This resulted in the deaths of dozens of civilians, including children and women, in mass massacres that confirm the escalation of the systematic pattern of mass killing against Palestinian civilians in the Strip."
The U.N.'s agency for Palestinian relief said last week that at least 22 displacement orders had been issued by the IDF since March 18, leaving at least 70% of Gaza under the control of the Israeli military. About 1.9 million Palestinians have been displaced amid Israel's war.
The news comes as it was revealed more than 10,100 Palestinians are still detained in Israel, even with hundreds being released amid prisoner swaps with Hamas, according to the Palestinian Commission of Detainees Affairs.
Those captives include 37 female prisoners and more than 400 children, as well as some 1,846 detainees from Gaza who were classified as "illegal combatants." Those numbers are mostly from the West Bank and don't fully include all people detained in Gaza.
Meanwhile, Defense for Children International Palestine -- a civil rights group operating in the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza -- alleged Friday that Israeli forces carried out an attack the previous day in which they used a girl as a "human shield."
The organization said Israeli forces on Thursday morning had besieged a three-story residential building in the West Bank city of Tammoun. killing everyone in the building and then demolishing it over their bodies.
"During the attack, Israeli special forces entered nearby houses and detained many Palestinians, including women and children, in the courtyard of a house opposite the besieged building. Israeli soldiers positioned themselves behind the group of Palestinians, firing their weapons toward the building over their heads," the rights group said.
One of the people allegedly detained during the operation was an 11-year-old girl.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
13 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Experts warn of 'worst-case scenario of famine' in Gaza
The total number of Palestinians killed since Israel launched its offensive has passed 60,000, according to the health ministry in the enclave. Experts are warning of a "worse-case scenario of famine" in Gaza. Director of Emergency Preparedness for World Food Programme Ross Smith joins Ana Cabrera to discuss the humanitarian crisis. Solve the daily Crossword
Associated Press
2 hours ago
- Associated Press
13 children died of malnutrition-related causes in a Darfur camp, a Sudan doctors' group says
CAIRO (AP) — Thirteen children died of malnutrition-related causes last month in a camp for displaced people in the Darfur region of Sudan, where civil war has created the world's worst humanitarian crisis, a doctors' group said Tuesday. The deaths in the Lagawa camp in East Darfur province were the latest tragedy in Sudan, which plunged into chaos in April 2023 when tensions between the military and the notorious paramilitary Rapid Support Forces exploded in the capital, Khartoum, and quickly spread. The Sudan Doctors Network, a group of Sudanese medical professionals across the northeastern African country, reported the children's deaths in a statement. It said the camp, which hosts more than 7,000 displaced people, mostly women and children, suffers from a severe food shortage. The group urged the international community and aid groups to scale up humanitarian assistance to the camp amid increasing rates of malnutrition, especially among children. But aid groups have pleaded for the warring sides to allow in more humanitarian assistance. UNICEF reported earlier this month a 46% surge in the number of children being treated for severe acute malnutrition — the most deadly form of malnutrition — across Darfur between January and May, compared to the same period last year. The U.N. agency said over 40,000 children were admitted for treatment for severe acute malnutrition in North Darfur province, double the number for the same period last year. Famine has been detected in multiple areas in Darfur and the southern region of Kordofan. The civil war has wrecked Sudan's health system, creating a breeding ground for diseases and affecting the well-being of millions, including already vulnerable communities. There are outbreaks of cholera, measles and malaria. 'This is a moment of truth; children's lives depend on whether the world chooses to act or look away,' Sheldon Yett, UNICEF Representative for Sudan, has said. The war has killed thousands of people and driven about 13 million from their homes, including 4 million who crossed into neighboring countries. The fighting also has been marked by atrocities including mass rape and ethnically motivated killings that amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity, especially in Darfur, according to the U.N. and international rights groups.
Los Angeles Times
2 hours ago
- Los Angeles Times
Over 60,000 Palestinians killed in the 21-month Israel-Hamas war, Gaza's Health Ministry says
DEIR AL BALAH, Gaza Strip — Over 60,000 Palestinians have been killed in the 21-month Israel-Hamas war, Gaza's Health Ministry said Tuesday. At least 77 were killed over the past 24 hours, most while seeking food. Israel's offensive, launched in response to Hamas' Oct. 7 attack, has destroyed vast areas of Gaza, displaced around 90% of the population and fueled a catastrophic humanitarian crisis. Experts warned Tuesday that the territory of some 2 million Palestinians is on the brink of famine, as Israeli restrictions and a breakdown of security have made it nearly impossible to safely deliver aid. The ministry, part of the Hamas-run government, said the death toll has climbed to 60,034, with 145,870 others wounded since the war started. The deaths include 18,592 children and 9,782 women. Together, they make up nearly half the dead. The ministry is staffed by medical professionals. The United Nations and other independent experts view its figures as the most reliable count of casualties. Israel has disputed its figures but has not provided its own account of casualties. Israeli strikes overnight and into Tuesday killed at least 77 Palestinians, according to local hospitals. More than half were killed while attempting to access aid, health officials said. Hospitals said they received the bodies of an additional 33 people who were killed by gunfire around an aid convoy in southern Gaza on Monday, bringing the toll to 58. Witnesses said Israeli forces fired toward the crowd. The Israeli military did not comment on the shooting. Over 1,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire while seeking aid since May, according to witnesses, health officials and the U.N. human rights office. Israel, which controls large areas of Gaza where aid is distributed, says it has only fired warning shots at those who approach its forces. An additional 14 Palestinians were killed while attempting to access aid near an American and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Fund site in central Gaza, according to local hospitals. GHF said there were no violent incidents near its sites on Tuesday. There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military on the shooting. Air strikes also targeted tents housing displaced people in the built-up Nuseirat refugee camp, killing 30 people, including 12 children and 14 women, according to Al-Awda hospital. The military said it targeted Hamas military infrastructure over the past day, including rocket launchers, weapons storage facilities and tunnels. Israel says it only targets militants and tries to avoid harming civilians, and blames civilian deaths on Hamas, saying the militants operate in populated areas The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, or IPC, the foremost international authority on food crises, said Gaza has teetered on the brink of famine for two years. But it said recent developments, including strict Israeli restrictions, have 'dramatically worsened' the situation. Under mounting international pressure, Israel announced a series of measures over the weekend to increase the flow of aid, including expanded humanitarian corridors and international aid drops. U.N. officials say there has so far been little change on the ground and far more is needed. Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar on Tuesday denied Israel was deliberately starving Gaza and said the focus on hunger was part of a 'distorted campaign of international pressure.' 'This pressure is directly sabotaging the chances for a ceasefire and hostage deal. It is only pushing towards military escalation by hardening Hamas's stance,' he said. The U.S. and Israel have both recalled their negotiating teams over the past week as long-running negotiations over a ceasefire and hostage release seem to have stalled. Hamas-led militants killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, in the attack that sparked the war, and abducted another 251. They are still holding 50 captives, around 20 believed to be alive, after most of the rest were released in ceasefires or other deals. The war took a major turn in early March when Israel imposed a complete 2 ½ month blockade, barring the entry of all food, medicine, fuel and other goods. Weeks later, Israel ended a ceasefire with a surprise bombardment and began seizing large areas of Gaza, measures it said were aimed at pressuring Hamas to release more hostages. At least 8,867 Palestinians have been killed since then. Israel eased the blockade in May, but U.N. agencies say it hasn't allowed nearly enough aid to enter and that they have struggled to deliver it because of Israeli restrictions and the breakdown of law and order. An alternative Israeli-backed system run by the foundation has been marred by violence and controversy. The World Health Organization says more than 60 people have died this month from malnutrition-related causes, including 24 children under five. Overall, 88 children died of causes related to malnutrition since the start of the war, while 58 adults died this month from malnutrition-related causes, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. During hunger crises, people can die from malnutrition or from common illnesses or injuries that the body is not strong enough to fight. The ministry doesn't include hunger-related deaths in its overall toll. Shurafa and Magdy write for the Associated Press. Magdy reported from Cairo.
