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Gaza govt says Israel deliberately targets schools and shelters in Jabaliya camp

May 21, 2024 at 12:27 pm

A view of the damaged school as Palestinian families who fled Rafah due to Israeli attacks take shelter in a school in Khan Yunis, Gaza as Israeli attacks on Gaza continue on 19 May, 2024 [Jehad Alshrafi/Anadolu Agency]

The government media office in the Gaza Strip said on Monday that after the latest aggression in the Jabaliya refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip, which has continued for the eighth consecutive day, the Israeli occupation forces have left widespread destruction. The occupation forces specifically targeted refuge shelters and schools.

“With intense air strikes and shelling, the brutal Israeli aggression on the Jabaliya camp continues for the eighth day in a row,” said officials. “Whole residential blocks have been destroyed, some of them over the heads of their occupants.” Hundreds of people have been wounded, they added, and dozens have been killed. Many are believed to be buried under the rubble.

“In a new crime committed by the occupation against defenceless civilians, and regrettably once again before the eyes of the international community, the occupation army is besieging families in several areas [in the Jabaliya camp], especially schools. Relief is unable to get through to them.”

With the closure of the Rafah Crossing and aid trucks being prevented from entering the Gaza Strip, starvation and thirst remain a reality for most Palestinians in the territory. The officials called on the international community and the UN to take urgent measures to stop the Israeli aggression and the genocide against the Palestinians in Gaza.

The Israeli army launched new incursions into Jabaliya and surrounding areas on 11 May under cover of a heavy bombardment, targeting dozens of homes and infrastructure. The camp is home to hundreds of thousands of refugees, including those displaced from the northern areas of the Gaza Strip.

Israel has continued its brutal offensive on the enclave despite a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire.

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