Israel’s bombardment and ground attacks in Gaza continued on day 123 of its genocidal war on Gaza. Hundreds of thousands of internally displaced Palestinian have been forced to move to further south in Gaza as fresh airstrikes and ground operations by the Israeli military kill and injure dozens of civilians in Khan Younis following the military issuing evacuation orders in the two areas. The deadly assault continues as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrives in Israel to pressurize Israel to agree to a truce, implement a pause, and allow more humanitarian aid to enter Gaza to alleviate the debilitating humanitarian crisis in the besieged Palestinian territory.
In the last day, Israeli attacks have hit areas across the Northern, Central and Southern parts of Gaza. In just 24 hours, Israeli forces killed at least 107 Palestinians and injured 143 others. The total death toll in Gaza since October 7 has risen to 27,585 Palestinians killed, including more than 11,500 children, with the number of wounded also increasing to 66,978. An additional 8,000 Palestinians are also missing. Israeli forces also arrested dozens of Palestinians from an area west of Gaza city.
In Gaza city, Israeli forces shot at civilians waiting outside a convoy of trucks to receive humanitarian aid, according to the UN’s humanitarian agency, OCHA. OCHA added that it was the fifth such incident in which Israeli forces have shot at people waiting for humanitarian aid.
Israeli forces have continued to lay siege on the Nasser hospital in Khan Younis where at least 300 medical personnel, 450 wounded Palestinians and over 10,000 other civilians taking refuge have been trapped. In the other hospital in Khan Younis, the al-Amal hospital and the Palestinian Red Crescent Society headquarters, which was also under siege and constant attacks by Israeli forces, about 8,000 displaced civilians along with 80 sick patients and 100 medical staff have been evacuated following the end of the siege.
An UNRWA truck carrying humanitarian aid to Northern Gaza was also targeted. The UN’s special rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories, Francesca Albanese, condemned the attack on the UNRWA truck, writing on X that “Targeting humanitarian aid convoys is a flagrant [international humanitarian law] violation,” and that it undermines desperate humanitarian efforts. The OCHA has additionally revealed that 66 percent of planned humanitarian missions to distribute food, water and other aid have been denied by the Israeli forces in the month of January.
In addition to the Israeli forces’ blocking of aid trucks, extremist far-right Israeli protesters have for the last several weeks also been blocking aid trucks, with Israeli news outlets reporting that at least 132 aid trucks are stuck at the Karem Abu Salem crossing between Israel and Gaza as a result.
Meanwhile, even as the death toll continues to swiftly rise, Israeli forces are reportedly planning to invade and attack Rafah, a part of Gaza where more than 1.4 million Palestinians displaced from other areas have taken refuge. Latest reports note that the Israeli government is currently reviewing military plans for an assault on Rafah, including evacuating the millions of Palestinian civilians currently in the city in Southern Gaza following Israel declaring it a “safe zone.”
The UN has warned that an attack on Gaza could result in a large-scale loss of civilian lives, adding that “everything possible must be done to avert such an attack”. It further noted that, “under international humanitarian law, indiscriminate bombing of densely populated areas may amount to war crimes.”
