Over 300 killed in nine-day Israeli assault on N Gaza

An Israeli airstrike in northern Gaza killed five children on Sunday, according to official Palestinian news agency WAFA and media affiliated with Palestinian resistance movement Hamas.

A group of children were playing near a cafe in the Al-Shati area when they were killed by a drone strike, according to WAFA, which cited local sources.

Israeli forces have widened their raid into northern Gaza, and tanks reached the north edge of Gaza City, pounding some districts of the Sheikh Radwan neighborhood and forcing many families to leave their homes, residents said.

They said Israeli forces had effectively isolated Beit Hanoun, Jabalia, and Beit Lahiya in the far north of the enclave from Gaza City, blocking access between the two areas except upon their permission for families willing to heed evacuation orders and leave the three towns.

Nine days into a major Israeli operation in northern Gaza, the Hamas-run Gaza government media office said Israeli strikes had killed around 300 Palestinians there.

More than 42,227 Palestinians have been killed and 98,464 injured in Israel's military offensive on Gaza since Oct. 7, 2023, the Gaza health ministry said in a statement Sunday.

Hamas said Israel's bombardment of civilian houses and displacement shelters was intended to force residents to leave Gaza once and for all, which Israel denies.

Gaza's health ministry says dozens of people have been confirmed killed in the assaults on northern areas, with many dozens of others feared dead on roads and under the rubble of houses beyond the reach of medical teams.

Many Jabalia residents posted on social media platforms: "We will not leave, we die, and we don't leave."

The northern part of Gaza, home to well over half the territory's 2.3mn people, was bombed to rubble in the first phase of Israel's assault on the territory a year ago.

After a year, hundreds of thousands of residents have come back to ruined northern areas. Israel sent troops back more than a week ago to root out fighters it said were regrouping for more attacks. Hamas denies fighters operate among civilians.

"As the world is focused on Lebanon and possible Israeli strike against Iran, Israel is wiping out Jabalia," said Nasser, a resident of Beit Lahiya in the northern Gaza Strip.

"The occupation is blowing up roads and destroying residential districts. People also don't find anything to eat, they are trapped inside their homes, fearing bombs could fall onto their heads," he told Reuters via a chat app.

While the main assault is on the north, Israel is also striking other areas across the Gaza Strip. The health ministry reported at least 11 people killed by late morning Sunday, including at least six killed in a house in Bureij camp in the central Gaza Strip, south of Gaza City.

Palestinian and United Nations 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 is a risk of famine there.