Nine people, including five children, were killed in an Israeli strike while collecting water in al-Mawasi, a region in southern Gaza that Israel had declared a safe zone, according to health officials.
A physician from al-Nasser hospital shared images of the children’s bodies, as well as water containers lying in blood at the attack site on Tuesday.
The strike occurred shortly after Israeli forces urged people to evacuate Gaza City for al-Mawasi ahead of an expected military operation. The Israeli military has attempted to move civilians out of the city before advancing, insisting that southern Gaza can provide shelter, though experts dispute this claim.
“We reiterate that in al-Mawasi, essential provisions, including medical care, water, and food, will be made available,” stated Avichay Adraee, the Israeli military’s Arabic-language spokesperson, in a social media post Tuesday afternoon.
Israel proceeded with its mobilization of thousands of reservists on Tuesday, preparing for heightened operations. Officials indicated that at least 60,000 reservists would be activated, while the service of an additional 20,000 would be prolonged as military activity escalates in Gaza City, described as Hamas’s last major stronghold.
The planned operation, named Gideon’s Chariots II, involves five divisions and could extend into next year.
Israeli forces have already moved into western Gaza City, demolishing the formerly thriving Zeitoun district and declaring the entire city a “high-risk combat zone” last week. Strikes have increased, with officials claiming to have killed Abu Obeida, the spokesperson for Hamas’s armed wing, in an airstrike on a residential building Saturday.
Gaza health officials reported at least 76 fatalities from Israeli strikes and gunfire in the past 24 hours.
On Monday, an international association of genocide scholars asserted that Israel’s actions in Gaza align with the legal definition of the crime. Humanitarian organizations warned that an invasion of Gaza City and the forced relocation of roughly 1 million people could result in catastrophic consequences. The city’s population has surged over the past two years as hundreds of thousands of Palestinians displaced from nearly 80% of Gaza sought refuge there.
A famine, exacerbated by Israeli restrictions on aid, has already taken hold in the city. Experts warn the crisis will deepen regardless of military operations. On Tuesday, 13 individuals, including three children, died from malnutrition, bringing the total starvation-related deaths in the past 23 months to 361—most occurring since July.
Israel is attempting to compel Gaza City’s residents to leave before its offensive intensifies.
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