By Sakeenah Abdullateef
Israeli forces on Wednesday launched new military strikes in southern Gaza, killing at least 12 people and displacing hundreds of Palestinians.
The displaced Palestinians are reportedly now seeking shelter and facing severe water shortages, as the nearly nine-month-old war in Gaza continues unabated, with both sides accusing each other of aggression and violations of human rights, and international efforts failing to secure a lasting ceasefire.
According to Agency reports, Israeli military conducted targeted, intelligence-based operations in Rafah, dismantling several military sites and killing Palestinian militants.
Hamas’ armed wing retaliated by shelling two Israeli tanks in a neighborhood west of Rafah and firing mortar bombs at Israeli forces attacking Shejaia, an eastern suburb of Gaza City in the center of the enclave.
The armed wing of Islamic Jihad, an allied group, said it had shelled an Israeli military bulldozer in Rafah and fired on Israeli army positions east of Shejaia.
In Maghazi refugee camp in central Gaza, two Israeli airstrikes killed five Palestinians, according to health officials.
In Shejaia, an airstrike killed four and wounded 17, medics said.
Another airstrike hit a car in the southern city of Deir Al-Balah, killing three people, health officials said.
Deir Al-Balah is crowded with hundreds of thousands of Palestinians forced to flee homes elsewhere in Gaza, and residents complain of acute shortages of drinking water and inflated prices for basic commodities.
The war in Gaza began when Hamas burst into southern Israel on Oct. 7, killing about 1,200 people and seizing around 250 civilians and soldiers who they took back in Gaza, according to Israeli tallies.
The offensive launched by Israel in retaliation to try to eliminate Hamas has killed nearly 38,000 people, according to the Gaza health ministry, and has left the heavily built-up coastal enclave in ruins. Internationally mediated talks have failed so far to secure a lasting ceasefire.
Israel’s leaders have said they are winding down the phase of intense fighting against Hamas and will soon shift to more targeted operations in the nearly nine-month-old war in Gaza.
But fighting continued overnight in two locations at the center of Rafah, where tanks have seized several districts and advanced further west and north of the city in recent days, and concerns about the plight of hundreds of thousands of displaced people are growing.
The Israeli military said its forces had continued targeted, intelligence-based operations in Rafah, dismantled several military sites, and killed Palestinian militants.
