Desk Report:
Israeli forces have also launched attacks on other Palestinian areas in addition to Gaza. 60 people were killed in Gaza and other Palestinian areas on Friday, Al Jazeera reported. Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reiterated his pledge to “finish the job” against Hamas in his speech to the UN General Assembly in New York.
At a press conference on Friday, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric quoted the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) as saying that Israel had “carried out one bomb attack every eight to nine minutes” in the past 24 hours.
Al Jazeera reported that Israel has increased its attacks on Gaza since the start of the ground operation on September 16. 30 people have been killed in Gaza City alone. In addition, several locations were attacked, including Al-Wahda Street, Shati refugee camp and the Nasr area. The residential Rimal area in western Gaza was also attacked.
Al Jazeera’s Ibrahim al-Khalili, reporting from the Rimal area, said the attack came without any warning. Palestinian civilians were rescuing survivors from the rubble and medical workers were removing the bodies of the dead.
Khalili added that the situation had gone from bad to worse as the Israeli attacks intensified, targeting various installations and areas.
In addition to the casualties from the Israeli strikes, Palestinian medical sources confirmed that 13 more people had been killed on Friday while trying to get help from aid centers run by the controversial Israeli and US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF).
Al Jazeera, citing medical sources in Gaza, reported that a 17-year-old boy had died at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in central Gaza after suffering from starvation and lack of treatment due to the blockade. Doctors said the boy’s death highlighted the growing humanitarian and health crisis in Gaza.
According to the Palestinian Health Ministry, at least 440 people have died from malnutrition so far, 147 of them children.
On Friday, the international charity Doctors Without Borders said its clinics in Gaza City were at risk due to Israeli attacks, forcing it to suspend medical services.
The organisation said it had provided more than 3,640 medical consultations for patients with malnutrition, war injuries and maternity in the past week alone.
MSF warned that hundreds of thousands of Palestinians were still trapped in Gaza City, and hospitals across the strip were under severe strain due to lack of staff and equipment.
UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher also described the dire situation in Gaza, saying that many Palestinians were starving. “We are still facing serious obstacles. The Israeli authorities are making it difficult to deliver aid,” he said.
