Residents of Shujaiya have been ordered to evacuate the east Gaza neighbourhood as the Israeli army advances its offensive [Getty/file photo
The Israeli military announced on Friday the expansion of its ground operation in northern Gaza to include the Gaza City neighbourhood of Shujaiya, escalating its offensive on the territory.
The military also ordered the expulsion of the neighbourhood’s residents, forcing them to leave their homes and belongings behind. They are likely to find their homes totally destroyed should they ever return.
The military’s Arabic-language spokesperson, Avichay Adraee, said the increasing offensive aims to “deepen control of the area” and expand a so-called “security zone,” in apparent reference to Israel’s buffer zone along the Gaza fence.
Adraee claimed that Israel forces “eliminated several terrorists” and destroyed a command and control complex “used by Hamas operatives”.
Israel, however, has killed at least 30 people since dawn on Friday the neighbourhood, as well as Khan Younis and Rafah.
A Palestinian mother and her child were among the dead in Shujaiya on Friday morning.
Eyewitness also told the Turkish Anadolu agency that army vehicles had entered the neighbourhood, targeting the area with artillery shelling and airstrikes.
The Israeli army also bombed the Ghabayen water desalination plant in the al-Tuffah neighbourhood east of Gaza City, according to Anadolu.
On Thursday, at least 37 people were killed in an Israeli massacre at the Dar Al-Arqam school-turned-shelter located in the east Gaza neighbourhood, which has been decried globally.
Also on Thursday, the Israeli army warned Palestinians in neighbourhoods east of Gaza City to evacuate their homes in areas including Shujaiya, Al-Jadida, Turkman, and Zeitoun.
Additionally, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) released a map on Friday revealing that 65 percent of Gaza’s territory is now either Israeli military “no go” zones or subject to forced displacement orders.
Largest orphan crisis in modern history
Over 39,000 children in Gaza have lost at least one or both parents since the start of the war, the Palestinian Bureau for Statistics said in a statement on Thursday.
Around 17,000 have lost both parents amid Israel’s relentless bombing of the territory.
“These children live in tragic conditions, with many of them forced to take refuge in torn tents or destroyed homes, in the almost complete absence of social care and psychological support,” the bureau added.
“The Gaza Strip is suffering from the largest orphan crisis in modern history.”
This comes as Palestinian Children’s Day is due to be marked on Saturday.
The statistics bureau also added that women and children made up 60 percent of those killed by Israel’s brutal offensive. 17,954 children have been killed so far, including 876 children under the age of one.
A total of 274 infants newborns were also killed amid the war, which started on 7 October 2023.
The bureau warned that 60,000 children are at risk of death due to severe levels of malnutrition and looming famine.
Children and minors make up about 43 percent of the combined Palestinian population of 5.5 million in Gaza and the occupied West Bank, the bureau said.
Palestinian man shot, killed in Jenin
A former Palestinian prisoner was killed at dawn on Friday by Israeli forces during a raid on the West Bank city of Jenin.
Hussein Hardan, 42, was killed after the Israeli military raided his home, according to The New Arab’s sister site, Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, citing local sources.
Soldiers had attempted to detain him multiple times prior to Friday, with Hardan managing to escape. He was eventually shot and later died, while ambulances were prevented from reaching the scene in a bid to treat him.
Forces then transported his body to the Jalameh military checkpoint, northeast of Jenin, before later handing it over to Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) ambulance crews.
The PRCS then confirmed that its crews received a body from the Israeli military at the Jalameh checkpoint, before being transferred to the Jenin Governmental Hospital.
Hardan’s death makes him the 37th victim of Israel’s campaign in Jenin, ongoing for a 73rd consecutive day.
