Hell on earth: Jabalia refugees under IDF siege in northern Gaza
Hundreds of casualties recorded as refugees remain trapped
The situation in Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza has turned into hell on earth over the past two weeks, observers say, as the area has been besieged on all sides and heavily bombarded by Israeli artillery, airstrikes, drones and snipers, resulting in large numbers of casualties and widespread destruction.
At least 22 people were killed in a single airstrike on October 12. A further 20 were killed in an attack on October 13. Additionally, 50 were killed and 150 wounded in a subsequent strike. Over the past weekend, hundreds more were killed in the ongoing siege and assault on Jabalia, with many more injured.
On Sunday, five children were also killed by drones while they were playing near Ghaben Café in western Gaza City.
Motasem Dalloul, who was near the scene, reported on Sunday that people in Jabalia were “being exterminated silently.” He said Israeli jets also targeted a school (Al Fslooja), which had been turned into a refugee shelter, “but we do not know how things are going on. No one can enter or leave the whole area!”
Dalloul later wrote that medical sources had confirmed that at least 286 people had been killed by the IDF since the start of their military siege on Jabalia nine days earlier: “Bodies of more than 80 of them are still scattered in the streets as they could not be collected due to heavy bombing in the area.”
Car-sized bombs
Psychiatrist Dr Mustafa Elmasri sent out a post Friday from people in Jabalia, saying:
"The occupation forces are using car-sized (robotic) tanks loaded with tons of explosives. These robots are placed in residential clusters in the Jabalia camp, then detonated all at once, causing massive destruction. So far, sources from Jabalia report that 3 residential blocks in the camp have been blown up by these robotic tanks."
On Saturday, journalist Hossam Shbat said “Jabalia is entirely under fire.”
“The enemy tanks are less than 700 meters away from us. The artillery is shelling us, and the drones are monitoring people’s movements, firing rockets in our direction. Hundreds of fighter jets and reconnaissance planes are above us. We’re in a state of anticipation, waiting to see how we will be targeted…. Any one of us could be killed at any moment. We are literally living our last moments.”
On Monday morning Shbat posted video footage of refugees burning alive in their tents and reported that “Israeli occupation forces just bombed the tents of displaced people around Al-Aqsa Hospital, causing citizens to be trapped and burn inside their tents while they were sleeping, massacres are non-stop.”
Trapped
Thousands of people are still trapped in the camp due to ongoing military operations and evacuation orders. The situation is made worse by the lack of basic necessities, including food, water, and medical supplies. Hospitals in the area are struggling to cope with the influx of casualties and are running low on fuel and medical supplies.
The UN reported that no food had entered northern Gaza since the start of October. CNN, which like the BBC, has been broadly supportive of Israel’s war on Gaza, reported that the people there were “at risk of going hungry”, ignoring the fact that many had been without food for almost two weeks and are already going hungry.
Several buildings, including residential homes, have been destroyed or severely damaged, leaving many homeless and in desperate need of shelter. The humanitarian situation is dire, with international organizations calling for the immediate inflow of aid and a ceasefire to allow for the safe evacuation and treatment of the injured.
Independent journalist in the West Bank Mariam Barghouti said
“Jabalia is straight out of a horror movie with it being completely surrounded with quadcopters shooting at people, war jets hovering above, bombs still ongoing, tank shelling. The small town and refugee camp of 1.4 km sq. is being obliterated. The infrastructure is destroyed completely and people are being wiped out. Israel has been heavily targeting Jabalia in the last two weeks with the intention of wiping it out.”
Dr. Ezzideen wrote that,
“What is happening in northern Gaza is a real genocide. Today, the Israeli army forced us to flee for the third time from our previous place of refuge, threatening an area where more than 60,000 people live. We fled in a heart-wrenching scene. People are walking through the streets, not knowing where to go… walking as if they are heading to the gallows, fear gripping them… We are facing an organized genocide, witnessed by governments around the world, live in front of everyone… we are being wiped out!”
Dr. Shahd Hammouri on Sunday posted a message that said, “Jabalia in northern Gaza is under heavy bombardment as we speak. No hospitals… they were destroyed by Israel. Hundreds under the rubble. A wave of small injured bodies screaming.”
AL Jazeera reporter Anas Al-Sharif, who has lived through and witnessed some of most dreadful events of the past year, said:
“Without exaggeration, these are the most difficult days of the Israeli war on Gaza.”
His colleague, Hind Khoudary, said “people in Jabaliya and other areas across north Gaza have been living the worst situation for more than a year. No food, no water, no electricity, and now a military operation forcing them to leave their houses. And if they leave quadcopters will shoot them.”