Humanitarians Warn Israel Is Rapidly Erasing Northern Gaza: ‘We Feel Hopeless’

Israeli forces have bombed the north, ordered Palestinians to leave and blocked almost all aid from coming in to help the collapsing health care system.

Humanitarians, aid groups and Palestinian civilians are desperately trying to tell the world that the Israeli military is essentially wiping northern Gaza off the map, with its weekslong siege involving relentless bombing, the destruction of hospitals and other infrastructure, and the ongoing aid blockade that is worsening both hunger and medical care.

Israeli forces have been carrying out a major ground invasion of the territory’s northern region for 19 days now, walling off Palestinians from the rest of a besieged Gaza. In that time, Israeli soldiers have killed more than 770 people in the north, particularly in the crowded Jabalia refugee camp, according to the Government Media Office.

“Dead bodies are strewn across the streets, with no safe place left. The situation is catastrophic,” Rana Soboh, a MedGlobal nutrition technical advisor who lives in Gaza City, said on Tuesday.

The death toll is likely much higher given that many people are still buried under rubble, while emergency workers struggle to access homes under attack without getting killed themselves. The Palestinian Civil Defense announced on Wednesday that it has “completely gone out of service” in northern Gaza, after the Israeli military detained some colleagues and targeted others with a drone. The emergency rescue group has been a massive resource for pulling Palestinians from under the rubble and putting out fires.

“The Israeli occupation is now completely eliminating all service providers present in the northern Gaza Strip, and ending all humanitarian services there,” said a member of the group, which posted a video showing Israeli soldiers shooting at rescuers trying to respond to a family whose home was bombed in Jabalia.