There are an estimated 400,000 people under blockade in northern Gaza who have no access to humanitarian aid. Israel has struck with force especially at the Jabalia refugee camp.
At the same time as the world’s eyes have turned to Israel’s military operations against the extremist organization Hezbollah in Lebanon, the northern part of the Gaza Strip has once again found itself in the middle of a humanitarian crisis.
Israel has accelerated its attacks in northern Gaza, especially in the Jabalia refugee camp.
For example, late on Friday, an Israeli airstrike killed at least 30 people and wounded more than 80. According to the Palestinian news agency Wafa, 20 children and women were among the dead.
Israel has tightened the blockade of northern Gaza since the beginning of October, and according to the World Food Program (WFP), not a single aid delivery has been received there for two weeks. Israel justifies its new full-scale attack on the north by saying that Hamas fighters have infiltrated the area.
Only three hospitals have operated in the northern Gaza Strip, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said on Tuesday. News channel According to Al-Jazeera Israel has bombed them all on Saturday, which is why they are suspended their operations.
According to the UN’s estimate, there are up to 400,000 people under blockade in northern Gaza. Israel has issued evacuation orders for the area, but according to rescue workers the army has fired at those trying to escape.
Many have had to move from one place to another several times already. The so-called safe zones located along the coast of the Gaza Strip are overcrowded and without basic services.
“Surrender or starve”
According to media reports, the Israeli administration has had a so-called “surrender or starve” plan on the table, according to which the extremist organization Hamas should be pressured to release the hostages through a strict blockade.
News agency Seen by APa plan presented by a retired army general would have the Israeli military first issue an evacuation order to northern Gaza and then declare it a closed military zone.
People staying in the area would automatically be considered Hamas fighters. They would be denied food, drink, medicine and fuel.
According to media reports, the government has not officially approved the strategy.
British Broadcasting Corporation of the BBC and a US magazine of The Washington Post according to the Israeli army’s operations in northern Gaza already have elements according to the plan. The army has already separated the southern and northern parts of Gaza from each other at the Wadi Gaza area. It has also cordoned off the Jabalia refugee camp with soldiers, tanks and drones.
Among other things, the EU’s high representative for external relations Josep Borrellseveral human rights organizations and the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC). Karim Khan have accused Israel of using hunger as an instrument of warfare.
In Israel, Jewish extremists are pushing for settlements in Gaza
Human rights organization The Human Rights Watch points out that the forced displacement of civilians and the use of hunger as a means of warfare can meet the criteria of war crimes. Temporary evacuations are allowed to protect civilians.
However, according to HRW, there are indications that Israel is trying to force Palestinians out of northern Gaza without a safe place or route to escape. Israel also has no clear plan to enable residents to return to the area.
The Palestinians of northern Gaza are worried about what Israel is aiming for by besieging northern Gaza and expelling civilians. Inter alia UN Human Rights Office has expressed concern over whether Israel will allow Palestinians to return to the territory after the war ends.
In Israel, extreme Jewish parties and organizations have pushed for the establishment of settlements in Gaza in the run-up to the war. Israeli newspaper Haaretz told this week that the prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu A third of the Likud MPs plan to participate next week in an event aimed at promoting the resettlement of Israelis in Gaza.
Israel withdrew its settlements from Gaza in 2005.
An ultimatum from the United States
The Israeli media reported this week that the United States has threatened to limit armed support to Israel if Israel does not improve the humanitarian conditions in Gaza within a month.
The United States says in its ultimatum leaked to the media that in September Israel either blocked or delayed 90 percent of humanitarian activities moving between the north and south of Gaza. Aid was received in Gaza in September less than once during Israel’s year-long hostilities.
According to The Times of Israel, Israel’s public broadcaster Kan says that Netanyahu has approved an increase in the number of aid shipments. According to Kan’s sources, 250 truckloads of aid per day would now be allowed in the area.
The US requirement would be a minimum of 350 truckloads per day.