Gaza’s civil defence agency reported that Israeli strikes killed at least 40 people on Saturday, while the Israeli military signaled plans to urge civilians to leave Gaza City ahead of a new offensive, News.Az reports citing the New Zelland Herald.
The latest toll comes more than a week after Israel’s security cabinet approved plans to capture the Palestinian territory’s largest city, following 22 months of war that have created dire humanitarian conditions.
Before the offensive, COGAT – the Israeli defence ministry body responsible for civil affairs in the Palestinian territories – said that starting from Sunday, the military would supply more tents and shelter equipment.
“As part of the preparations to move the population from combat zones to the southern Gaza Strip for their protection, the supply of tents and shelter equipment to Gaza will resume,” it said in a statement.
Hamas later slammed the move, saying the announcement was part of a “brutal assault to occupy Gaza City”.
Earlier, Gaza’s civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal said conditions in Gaza City’s Zeitun neighbourhood were rapidly deteriorating, with residents having little to no access to food and water amid heavy Israeli bombardment.
The spokesman added that about 50,000 people were estimated to be in that area of Gaza City, “the majority of whom are without food or water” and lacking “the basic necessities of life”.
Media restrictions in Gaza and difficulties accessing swathes of the Palestinian territory mean AFP is unable to independently verify the tolls and details provided by the civil defence agency or the Israeli military.
In recent days, Gaza City residents have told AFP of more frequent air strikes targeting residential areas, including Zeitun, while earlier this week Hamas denounced “aggressive” Israeli ground incursions.
Bassal told AFP the number of people killed in the central Gaza Strip on Saturday had risen to 40.
The military insisted in a statement on Saturday that it is “committed to mitigating civilian harm during operational activity, in strict accordance with international law”, questioning the reliability of the death tolls provided by the civil defence agency.
