Night of terror for Beit Lahia as Israel intensifies attacks

Palestinians in the town of Beit Lahia in the north of Gaza experienced a difficult and terrifying night as the Israeli army intensifies air and ground attacks throughout the area.

The town’s residents told The New Arab that the Israeli army escalated its assault, besieging a school housing displaced people and targeting the courtyard of Kamal Adwan Hospital, the only operating hospital in the north of Gaza.

“Israeli quadcopters continue to target anyone moving in the town of Beit Lahia, preventing us [trapped people] from trying to escape,” Mohammed Ali, a resident in Beit Lahia, said to TNA. 

“The Israeli army killed several people of our neighbours, especially those in the streets. We can hear their voices asking for help, but we cannot leave our houses or even help any of them. The army is deliberately killing us to empty the area,” he said. 

“The Israeli army booby-trapped a number of houses in the town before blowing them up, leading to the sound of huge explosions,” he added.

‘Alone, without any help’

“We are facing this alone, without any help. We are facing our fate without knowing when we will die,” Samir Abed, another resident, said to TNA. 

“The Israeli army is bombing homes over the heads. We hear the voices of people calling out for help, and we cannot go out to save them. We are living a nightmare of fear, terror, death, oppression and grief,” he said. 

During the night, the Israeli army struck several residential homes, killing dozens and leaving countless others under the rubble. 

Meanwhile, the Israeli army targeted the hospital of Kamal Adwan, five times during the day and night of Tuesday, according to Hussam Abu Safiya, the hospital’s director. 

“The Israeli military drones dropped a bomb on the hospital yard, injuring three medical personnel, one of whom is in critical condition and undergoing complex surgeries,” Abu Safiya told TNA during a phone call. 

“I cannot understand the reason for the global, Arab and Islamic silence regarding what is happening in northern Gaza. We are living a real tragedy and massacres against civilians, and we do not have any capabilities to save the wounded,” he said. “Throughout the night, we hear cries for help, and we do not know how to reach the wounded or even if we can save them.” 

The Israeli army also surrounded the Abu Tamam school in Beit Lahia, cutting off all communications with all those present inside. Eyewitnesses living in the vicinity of the school say that they hear frequent gunfire and the screams of women and children.

The Israeli army is currently conducting a large-scale operation in the northern areas of the Gaza Strip since 5 October under the pretext of preventing Hamas elements from rebuilding their military capabilities in the north of Gaza. Since the start of this Israeli attack, more than 3,700 Palestinians have been killed or are missing. More than 10,000 others have been injured in northern Beit Lahia alone.

“So far, the Israeli army has arrested more than 1,750 Palestinian civilians too, and we do not know what their fate is or even the circumstances of their arrest,” according to Ismail Thawabta, head of the government media office in Gaza.  

For his part, Mahmoud Basal, spokesman for the Civil Defence Authority, noted that “more than 70 percent of the martyrs during the Zionist military operation in the northern Gaza Strip are still under the rubble.”

“What is happening in northern Gaza is the bloodiest since the beginning of the war, and [Israel] is bombing homes in which hundreds of people are present over their heads without any warning, which has led to the extermination of entire families as part of the broader ethnic cleansing campaign,” Basal said. 

Basal noted that the Israeli army destroyed infrastructure, homes and schools over the course of 60 days in the northern Gaza Strip, forcibly displacing more than 130,000 Palestinians.