Tånaiste Micheál Martin has called on the international community to “use every lever at its disposal to pressure Israel to stop this war” amid a “war crime” in northern Gaza, where, he said, “an entire population is being encircled and forced out, with nowhere for them to go”.
Mr Martin’s intervention came as Israeli forces widened their raid into northern Gaza, and tanks reached the north edge of Gaza City, pounding some districts of the Sheikh Radwan neighbourhood, residents said, forcing many families to leave their homes.
Residents said Israeli forces have 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 leave the three towns, heeding evacuation orders.
Gaza’s health ministry said the eight-day-old Israeli incursions in the north have so far killed dozens of Palestinians, with dozens of others feared dead on roads and under rubble of their houses, beyond the reach of medical teams.
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Many Jabalia residents posted on social media platforms: "We will not leave, we die, and we don't leave."
In a statement on Sunday Mr Martin said: “The horrific scenes unfolding in Jabalia, and northern Gaza must stop.
“An offensive by the Israeli Defence Forces, backed by tanks and air strikes, has left dozens of civilians dead, many close to starvation, and access to humanitarian aid extremely curtailed.
“An entire population is being encircled and forced out, with nowhere for them to go. This represents a mass expulsion of people from their homeland.
“It is a war crime, and the international community must use every lever at its disposal to pressure Israel to stop this war.
“The UN and the world’s media must be allowed immediate access to witness what is happening. This war must end.
“I will be raising our profound concern and the urgency of bringing an end to this devastation at the Foreign Affairs Council meeting in Luxembourg tomorrow.”
The northern part of Gaza, home to well over half the territory’s 2.3 million people, was bombed to rubble in the first phase of Israel’s assault on the territory a year ago, after the October 7th attacks on Israeli towns by militants who killed some 1,200 people and captured 250 hostages.
The number of people killed in Israeli forces’ military offensive in Gaza since then has reached 42,227, according to figures provided by Gaza’s health ministry on Sunday, with a further 98,464 injured. After a year of assaults on the strip, hundreds of thousands of residents have come back to ruined northern areas. A week ago Israel sent troops back to root out fighters it said were regrouping for more attacks. Hamas denies fighters operate among civilians.
The escalation in northern Gaza has taken place alongside a huge Israeli air assault and ground campaign on a separate front in southern Lebanon against Hizbullah, which like Hamas is an ally of Iran.
"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 on to their heads," he told Reuters via a chat app.
On Saturday night, an Israeli strike on the central Gaza Strip killed a family of eight, Palestinian medical officials said. The strike in Gaza late Saturday hit a home in the Nuseirat refugee camp, killing parents and their six children, who ranged in age from eight to 23, according to the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in nearby Deir al-Balah, where the bodies were taken, according to Associated Press.
The Israeli military said in a statement on Sunday that forces operating throughout the Gaza Strip in the past 24 hours had attacked about 40 targets and killed dozens of militants.
"The forces of Division 162 continue to operate in the Jabalia region, in the last day the forces killed dozens of terrorists and found explosives, weapons, grenades and other means of warfare in the region," it said.
The armed wings of Hamas, the Islamic Jihad and smaller other factions said their fighters attacked Israeli forces in Jabalia and nearby areas with anti-tank rockets and mortar fire.
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.
Some tank shells landed in some streets of the Gaza City suburb of Sheikh Radwan, where tanks arrived at the edges of the territory, residents said, spreading panic among the population further south. – Reuters, additional reporting Associated Press