Israel has initiated the third stage of the ongoing conflict in Gaza, specifically targeting regions that are heavily populated with refugee camps.
A warning and alert have been issued by aid agencies, indicating that Palestinian civilians are facing a shortage of space.
Israel Launches Third Stage of Gaza War
TOPSHOT - Palestinians inspect the damage at the Al-Maghazi refugee camp after an overnight Israeli strike on December 25, 2023, amid ongoing battles between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas.
Israeli military spokesperson Daniel Hagari said they had extended their operations in Central Gaza after months of fighting Hamas in the north and before moving into the central southern city of Khan Younis in November. He said that their forces were now active, surrounding the Strip.
On Wednesday morning, residents of the Bureij, Maghazi, and Nuseirat refugee camps, all located in Central Gaza, reported heavy bombing. Rami Abu Mosab, a resident of the Bureij camp, described the bombing as horrible and they had not seen such bombing since the start of the war.
Since last Friday, Israel has been ordering Palestinians to leave Central Gaza. However, according to the United Nations humanitarian office, the area was home to 90,000 people before the war on October 7 and was currently sheltering over 61,000 displaced individuals.
A video released by the Palestine Red Crescent Society showed medical personnel retrieving at least one body from the debris of the collapsed buildings in the Bureji camp on Wednesday.
According to the health ministry in Gaza, more than 21,100 Palestinians, mainly women and children, have been killed in nearly three months of fighting, including almost 200 people in the last 24 hours.
National Security Adviser Tzachi Hanegbi said that the first stage in the war contains the Hamas attack and clearing of the terrorists in southern Israel. The second stage targets all enemy systems through air, land, and sea quality intelligence.
Hanegbi noted that ground operations in the northern Gaza Strip would be the third and current stage.
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Aid Agencies Speak Out
Ahmed Bryan, a spokesperson for the Norwegian Refugee Council, a humanitarian group operating mainly in southern Gaza, said there was no space left for those fleeing.
He said that the area has overcrowded residential areas and refugee camps that house tens of thousands. He added, "This unlawful strategy of forcible transfers has repeated itself five or six times already in just under three months. There is no space to accommodate those fleeing to Deir Balah or southern Gaza."
Bryan further warned that medication, food, and water were becoming increasingly scarce while diseases became more prevalent.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is scheduled to make his fifth trip to Israel next week since October 7. The top US diplomat was expected to visit the West Bank, Jordan, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar to discuss the following stages of the war.
Blinken met with the Israeli minister of strategic affairs, Ron Dermer, on Tuesday. The two discussed the preparations for a shift from intense combat in Gaza to a more localized approach targeting high-value Hamas targets.
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