Israeli forces continue to besiege Jabalia, target Bureij camp in Gaza

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Al Mayadeen + Agencies
21 Dec 2023 05:10

The Israeli artillery targets eastern areas of Khan Younis, in addition to several locations in central Gaza.

A fireball erupts after an Israeli strike over Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on December 20, 2023. (Photo by SAID KHATIB / AFP)

Al Mayadeen's correspondent in Gaza reported that the Israeli occupation targeted the Bureij refugee camp in the center of the Gaza Strip, simultaneous with renewed Israeli airstrikes on Jabalia.

Local sources mentioned that the Israeli forces, besieging the town and camp of Jabalia, forcibly stormed citizens' homes, forcibly displaced them under threat, and subsequently set fire to several residences.

The Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) confirmed that the Israeli forces are still besieging the Jabalia ambulance center, endangering the safety of 127 civilians, including medical staff and 22 wounded people.

This is what the Palestinians in #Gaza are witnessing under Israeli bombing.
A #Palestinian family residing in the #Jabalia refugee camp in the Gaza Strip recorded the horrific moments of the Israeli strikes near their house. pic.twitter.com/OHfxsSQVod
— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) December 20, 2023

At least 24 civilians were killed, and others were injured in Israeli airstrikes on homes and areas sheltering displaced Gazans near the European Hospital in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, bringing the number of people martyred in the province on Wednesday to 55.

Furthermore, the Israeli artillery targeted eastern areas of Khan Younis, in addition to several locations in central Gaza.

On Wednesday evening, the Government Media Office in Gaza announced in a statement that the number of Palestinians killed in the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip has surpassed 20,000 martyrs. It clarified that among them are 8,000 children, 6,200 women, 310 medical personnel, and 97 journalists.

The Office added that the Israeli aggression has led to the injury of 52,600 people, with 6,700 still missing under the rubble or with unknown fates, 70% of whom are children and women.

The statement noted that "Israel" has so far committed 1,700 massacres.

For 75 consecutive days, the Israeli occupation continued to bomb residential buildings, reducing them to rubble over the heads of their inhabitants, destroying 53,000 housing units, and partially damaging 255,000 units, as per the statement.

It also detailed that over 1.8 million people in Gaza are forcibly displaced and approximately 2.4 million people are suffering under difficult and unprecedented humanitarian conditions, struggling to obtain food, medicine, and drinkable water.

Since the beginning of the Israeli aggression, the occupation has arrested hundreds of Palestinians, including 99 from medical teams and rights journalists, the statement highlighted, adding that "Israel" continues to target the health sector, having targeted and put out of service more than 23 hospitals, 53 health centers, 140 health institutions, and 102 ambulances.

The occupation forces also demolished 126 governmental facilities and 90 educational institutions (schools and universities), partially damaged 283 educational facilities, completely destroyed 114 mosques, and partially destroyed 200 mosques. Three churches were also targeted in the aggression, according to the statement.

The Government Media Office in Gaza held the international community and the United States, side by side with the Israeli occupation, fully responsible for the genocide in Gaza. It emphasized that deliberate measures were implemented by the international community and Washington to obstruct any attempts to halt the Israeli aggression

The statement emphasized that the aid entering Gaza meets only 2% of the increasing needs of the Strip due to the aggression. It also called for the opening of the Rafah crossing and all crossings, urging the entry of 1,000 aid trucks daily, in addition to one million liters of fuel, as well as relief vehicles and equipment to save what can be saved.

The Office called on Arab and Islamic countries to introduce field hospitals equipped medically to save tens of thousands of wounded and sick individuals. It also requested the transfer of thousands of seriously injured individuals to their hospitals for treatment.