Israeli tanks deepen their push into the northern Gaza Strip

By Nidal al-Mughrabi

CAIRO (Reuters) -Israeli forces widened their raid into northern Gaza, and tanks reached the north edge of Gaza City, pounding some districts of the Sheikh Radwan neighborhood and forcing many families to leave their homes, residents said.

Residents said Israeli forces had 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 heed evacuation orders and leave the three towns.

Nine days into a major Israeli operation in northern Gaza, the Hamas-run Gaza government media office said Israeli strikes had killed around 300 Palestinians there. It said Israel's bombardment of civilian houses and displacement shelters was intended to force residents to leave Gaza once and for all, which Israel denies.

Gaza's health ministry says dozens of people have been confirmed killed in the assaults on northern areas, with many dozens of others feared dead on roads and under the rubble of houses beyond the reach of medical teams.

Many Jabalia residents posted on social media platforms: "We will not leave, we die, and we don't leave."

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 Oct. 7 attacks on Israeli towns by militants who killed 1,200 people and captured 250 hostages.

After a year of Israeli assaults that killed 42,000 Palestinians, hundreds of thousands of residents have come back to ruined northern areas. Israel sent troops back more than a week ago 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 Hezbollah, 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 onto their heads," he told Reuters via a chat app.

While the main assault is on the north, Israel is also striking other areas across the Gaza Strip. The health ministry reported at least 11 people killed by late morning on Sunday, including at least six killed in a house in Bureij camp in the central Gaza Strip, south of Gaza City.

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.

In the southern Gaza Strip, Israeli authorities released 12 Palestinians detained during the ground offensive, local border officials said. Freed detainees have complained of torture and ill-treatment while in Israeli detention, allegations Israel denies.

(Reporting and writing by Nidal al-MughrabiEditing by Peter Graff)