The war in Gaza between Israel and Hamas entered its 200th day on Tuesday as fears rose regarding Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) plans to invade Rafah, which lies south of Gaza Strip and is currently housing 1.5 million internally displaced Gazans.
Aid groups working there have warned that such an operation would create an “apocalyptic situation”.
However, those warnings have not deterred Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from committing to follow through with his plan to send troops into Rafah.
The IDF carried out intense shelling overnight of Gaza City and explosions were reported from southwest Gaza and Khan Yunis city. The strikes hit Bureij and Nuseirat refugee camps in central Gaza.
The war began with an unprecedented Hamas attack on October 7 that resulted in the death of around 1,170 people, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.
In retaliation, Israel launched a military offensive that has killed at least 34,183 people in Gaza, mostly women and children, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory.
The IDF also warned Gazans living north of the strip that they are residing in a dangerous combat zone. “(The) will work with extreme force against terrorist infrastructure and subversive elements,” Israeli army spokesperson Avichay Adraee said, as he urged residents of four zones in Beit Lahiya on Gaza’s northern edge to move to two designated areas.
In a statement issued later on Tuesday, the military said it “follows international law and takes feasible precautions to mitigate civilian harm.”
Hamas also appeared to be unfazed by the ramping up of the Israeli attacks and on live television congratulated Iran for its direct attack on Israel earlier this month.
The militant group’s spokesperson for its armed wing, Abu Ubaida, called for an escalation in conflict across all fronts and said that the group is sticking to its demands in ceasefire talks for Israel to permanently end its war, pull all its troops from Gaza and allow the displaced to return to the north.
“After 200 days, the enemy remains trapped in the sands of Gaza,” Abu Ubaida said.
He also warned that the hostages would “most likely” not return home soon.
The United Nations rights office said it was “horrified” at reports of mass graves found at the Gaza Strip’s two biggest hospitals after Israeli sieges and raids.
Gaza’s Civil Defence agency said nearly 340 bodies were uncovered of people killed and buried by Israeli forces at the Nasser Hospital in the southern city of Khan Yunis.
Israel’s army responded by saying that claims it had buried Palestinian bodies were “baseless and unfounded”, without directly addressing allegations that Israeli troops were behind the killings. The army said that “corpses buried by Palestinians” had been examined by Israeli troops searching for hostages and then “returned to their place”.
UN rights chief Volker Turk called for an “independent” probe into the deaths at Nasser and Gaza City’s Al-Shifa hospitals, noting the “special protection” awarded to medical facilities under international law.
(with inputs from AFP and Reuters)
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