Israeli strikes killed at least 59 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip yesterday, local health authorities said, most of them in Gaza City, where many residents are staying put despite Israeli evacuation orders because they have nowhere safe to go.
“The explosions never stopped since yesterday. By these bombardments they are telling people ‘You either leave your area or die there’,” said father-of-two Adel, 60, who lives in Gaza City close to Beach refugee camp.
Israel has stated its intention to take full control of the ruined city, where about a million people are sheltering, as part of its plan to wipe out Hamas, and has been intensifying its attacks.
In the weeks since Israel announced plans to take over Gaza City, the Israeli military has destroyed or damaged more than 1,800 buildings in and around the city, CNN analysis has found.
Satellite imagery taken by Planet Labs on September 5 shows large-scale demolitions, mostly of residential buildings, when compared to imagery taken August 9, a day after Israel approved its new offensive.
Most of the destruction appears concentrated in the Zeitoun area, south of the city centre.
In early September, the Israeli military pulled out of the neighbourhood and blew up a school it had been using as a base.
Between August 9 and August 17, the Israeli military also demolished parts of Al Tuffah neighbourhood in eastern Gaza City, where thousands of displaced Palestinians have been sheltering.
Just north of Gaza City in Jabaliya, the Israeli military has also levelled more than 750 buildings, according to CNN’s analysis.
The army said it had completed five waves of air strikes on Gaza City this week, targeting more than 500 sites, and that it had destroyed reconnaissance and sniper sites, buildings containing tunnel openings and weapons depots.
In a statement, it said it would “continue to intensify the pace of strikes in a focused manner, based on precise intelligence, with the aim of hitting Hamas’ infrastructure”.
Palestinian health authorities said several deadly strikes had hit targets in the south of the territory, where some of those fleeing the bombardment of Gaza City have been heading.
Amjad Al Shawa, head of the Palestinian NGOs Network, which liaises with the UN and international aid groups, told Reuters an estimated 10 per cent of people in Gaza City had left since Israel announced its plan to take control a month ago.
The Israeli army said it had started expanding an area of the southern Gaza Strip it calls “Crossing 147” in order to increase the volume of aid entering a designated humanitarian zone.
This was in preparation to receive the population leaving the northern area, it said.
“It should be emphasised that upon completion, the crossing’s intake capacity will rise to 150 trucks per day – triple the current level, thereby enabling increased entry of aid, with an emphasis on food,” the army said in a statement.
The UN and many foreign governments, including those of countries traditionally allied with Israel, have condemned the Gaza City evacuation order, called for a ceasefire, and sharply criticised conditions in the humanitarian zone.
Yesterday, Israeli police said an attacker from a Palestinian area of the West Bank had been arrested after carrying out a stabbing attack on guests of a hotel at a kibbutz near Jerusalem.
Israel’s ambulance service said two people had been taken to hospital.
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