Extract from ABC News
Topic:Unrest, Conflict and War
Palestinians take shelter in a stadium after fleeing areas in the northern Gaza Strip due to an Israeli evacuation order. (Reuters: Dawoud Abu Alkas)
In short:
The Israeli military is pushing deeper into the Balial area of Gaza, where international relief agencies say thousands of people are trapped.
In Lebanon, the UN peacekeeping force said its headquarters in Naqoura has been hit again.
Poland said 40 countries had co-signed a joint statement, strongly condemning recent attacks on UN peacekeepers in Lebanon.
Israeli military strikes on Gaza have killed at least 29 Palestinians, medics say, and forces kept pushing deeper into the Jabalia area, where international relief agencies say thousands of people are trapped.
Residents said Israeli forces continued to pound Jabalia, the largest of Gaza's historic refugee camps in the north of the enclave, from the air and ground.
Nineteen people were killed in Gaza overnight, and 10 more died on Saturday evening after Israel struck two houses in Jabalia and the Nuseirat camp in central Gaza.
The death toll could rise as many of the wounded are in critical condition, medics said.
The Israeli military published new evacuation orders on Saturday to two neighbourhoods on the northern edge of Gaza City, which also lies in the north of the enclave, saying the area was a "dangerous combat zone".
In a statement, Gaza's Hamas-run interior ministry urged residents not to relocate within northern areas of the enclave and also to avoid heading south "where the occupation is conducting continued bombing and killing every day in the areas it claims to be safe".
The Israeli military said it had been operating against Hamas fighters who had been using civilian buildings and said clear evacuation instructions had been issued over recent days to areas including the Kamal Adwan Hospital.
It said an evacuation convoy to take patients from the hospital to Gaza City had arrived on Saturday with a supply of fuel for the facility.
In recent days, the military had said forces operating in Jabalia and nearby areas killed dozens of militants, located weapons and dismantled military infrastructure.
On Saturday, it said more than 20 fighters had been killed by tank fire, close-range gunfire and air strikes as forces continued operations throughout the Gaza Strip.
The operation in this area began a week ago and the military said then it aimed to fight against militants waging attacks and to prevent Hamas from regrouping.
Hamas denies that its fighters deliberately use civilian areas as bases.
Palestinian health officials put the number of people killed in Jabalia over the past week at about 150.
40 countries condemn attacks
In Lebanon, the UN peacekeeping force said its headquarters in Naqoura was hit again, with a peacekeeper struck by gunfire late Friday and now in stable condition.
It wasn’t clear who fired.
It occurred a day after Israel’s military fired on the headquarters for a second straight day.
Lebanese soldiers pass the site of an Israeli air strike in Barja village, south of Beirut. (AP: Mohammed Zaatari)
Israel, which has warned peacekeepers to leave their positions, did not immediately respond to questions.
Condemnation of the Israeli attacks is building within the international community.
Poland said 40 countries had co-signed a joint statement, strongly condemning recent attacks on UN peacekeepers in Lebanon.
The UN peacekeeping mission in Lebanon, UNIFIL, said several of its staff had been wounded in recent days in Israel's escalating conflict with the Iran-backed Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.
After the first two incidents, US President Joe Biden said he was "absolutely, positively" urging Israel to stop firing at UN peacekeepers.
Poland said it was welcoming the growing support for its joint statement condemning the recent incidents and urging all parties to respect UNIFIL's mission and ensure the safety of its personnel.
Among the countries that signed the statement are Germany, France and the UK.
No safe areas in Gaza
Palestinian and UN officials say there are no safe areas in Gaza.
They have also voiced concerns over severe shortages of food, fuel, and medical supplies in northern Gaza, and said there was a risk of famine there.
Israel's military campaign in Gaza, aimed at eliminating the militant group Hamas, has killed more than 42,000 Palestinians since it began a year ago, according to Gaza's health ministry, and has laid waste to the enclave.
The war began after a Hamas-led assault on October 7, 2023, on southern Israeli communities in which 1,200 people were killed and about 250 were taken hostage, according to Israeli tallies.
In a statement on Saturday, Hamas said Israel's "massacre against the civilians" aimed to punish the residents of Jabalia for refusing to leave their homes.
It also said it was a sign of Israel's military failure to defeat the group.
Israel has denied it targets civilians.
ABC/Reuters
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