While military activity remained focused on the city of Khan Younis in the south of the Strip, Israel Defence Forces were last night reportedly venturing into the vast Jabalia compound in the north.
IDF said it was intent on “wiping out” all Hamas personnel. The UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, said Jabalia had over 116,011 registered refugees.
Israel said an air strike on the camp in October killed a senior Hamas commander but it believes some operatives may still remain. Dozens of people were said to have died in that strike, and Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry said many more have lost their lives in later strikes as recently as Sunday.
IDF has ordered the evacuation of a fifth of Khan Younis but, as tanks and armoured vehicles encircled the city yesterday, any possible evacuation appeared increasingly perilous.
IDF admitted the main road leading there from the north now constituted “a battlefield”.
The UN’s humanitarian coordinator for the Palestinian Territories, Lynn Hastings, said: “Nowhere is safe in Gaza and there is nowhere left to go. If possible, an even more hellish scenario is about to unfold, one in which humanitarian operations may not be able to respond.”
Many Gazans had already fled to the south from the north these past eight weeks. The UN says about 80% of Gaza’s 2.3 million people have been displaced.
UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini warned access to water was limited as the Israeli military operation has blocked a desalination facility supplying 350,000 people.
The largest hospital in south Gaza, where more than 1,000 are being treated and 17,000 displaced people are sheltering, may soon stop functioning due to dwindling supplies and staff.
At least 60,000 more have moved to “already overcrowded UNRWA shelters”, Mr Lazzarini said, adding: “The evacuation order pushes people to concentrate into what is less than one-third of the Gaza Strip. They need everything: food, water, shelter, and mostly safety.”
Defence Secretary Grant Shapps said the Government would “move heaven and earth” to bring home all British hostages being held in Gaza.
He told the Commons that unarmed and unmanned UK surveillance flights would help the bid. He declined to say how many British hostages were there.
