As northern Gaza continues to be bombarded by air, land, and sea, destroying homes and residential areas, Israeli occupation forces are imposing a suffocating siege on residents and hospitals for the 16th consecutive day. In response, Palestinian resistance factions and the Foreign Ministry are vocally denouncing Israeli crimes and those who support them.

The Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) movement issued a statement slamming the new level of criminality the Israeli occupation is committing in north Gaza, which was spawned as the Israeli government revealed the so-called "Generals' Plan", aiming to eliminate any aspect of life in the north. 

The occupation is besieging 400,000 Palestinians in northern Gaza, the PIJ added, stressing that it was also deliberately bombarding hospitals and murdering people in the streets and their tents. 

"The scale of genocide being carried out in northern Gaza, in full view of the world, is many times greater than the massacres and crimes against humanity that the enemy committed in an entire year," the statement read, noting that the enemy is executing a policy of collective punishment against civilians who remain committed to their land and refuse to be displaced in "abhorrent and Nazi-like policies."

The PIJ holds the United States fully responsible for these crimes, citing its provision of weapons of mass destruction and military and political impunity that enabled the occupation to commit its acts without restraint.

Flood US, Western embassies across the globe

For its part, the Palestinian Resistance Committees echoed the PIJ's statement, saying "the Israeli holocaust, massacres, and acts of ethnic cleansing and genocide being carried out by the zionist Nazi army in northern Gaza would not be possible without US weapons, support, and cover, as well as international inaction, which amounts to complicity in these crimes."

The Committees further called on the people of the occupied West Bank, al-Quds, and all occupied territories to escalate and deliver painful blows against the Israeli occupation and its forces, wherever they may be, in response to the bloodshed and destruction enforced by "Israel" in Gaza. 

"The people of our nation and the free people of the world must take immediate and urgent action to stop this genocide by taking to the streets and surrounding Western and US embassies," they further urged. 

The international community needs to wake up

In turn, the Palestinian Foreign Ministry condemned the massacre in Beit Lahia, asserting that it is a "reflection of the international community's failure." 

The Israeli occupation and the international community were held fully accountable for the ongoing massacre, calling for a global awakening to enforce an immediate ceasefire.

On Saturday evening, the Israeli occupation committed a horrific massacre by bombing several houses near al-Qassam Mosque in the Beit Lahia area in the northern Gaza Strip. 73 martyrs were killed, the preliminary death toll revealed, however an updated estimation announced that 83 Palestinians were murdered so far. 

As the Israeli occupation’s siege on the north continues, Gaza’s Civil Defense spokesperson, Mahmoud Basal, stated that Jabalia Camp is facing extremely dire conditions due to the occupation's prevention of humanitarian aid. He noted that over 400 people, including children, women, and the elderly, have been killed, while it is becoming increasingly difficult for the Civil Defense to reach the bombing sites.

Hamas leader Sami Abu Zuhri previously denied the arrival of any aid to northern Gaza for more than two weeks, explaining that the occupation continues to mislead the public by issuing false reports about the entry of aid, which are entirely unfounded.

In a press conference on Saturday, Abu Zuhri added that the occupation's cutting of communication and internet services in northern Gaza is intended to conceal the ongoing genocide, isolate its residents, and prevent the world from witnessing the daily massacres occurring in the area.

Read more: Ethnic cleansing plan underway in north Gaza, Israeli soldiers reveal