Israel kills civilians in Gaza aid distribution centres tents and residential blocks
Israeli strikes across the Gaza Strip have resulted in the death of at least 15 civilians since dawn on Friday, as a complete internet and telecommunications blackout hits the besieged enclave.
Several citizens looking for aid, as well as aid workers, were killed and wounded in separate attacks on Friday morning, including one near the Netzarim checkpoint in central Gaza.
The health ministry in Gaza reported on Thursday that there have been 245 deaths amongst those seeking aid, with over 2,152 injured, since the US-Israeli "aid" operation began over two weeks ago.
The number is expected to rise after Israeli attacks on aid centres on Friday.
Israel also struck residential blocks, including in al-Rawda and al-Tuffah neighbourhoods located east of Gaza City, a mosque in Jabalia, north of Gaza, and attacks on the so-called al-Mawasi "safe zone" in Khan Younis, south Gaza.
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Emergency response teams capabilites were crippled due to the complete shutdown of communication services following targeted Israeli attacks on Gaza's telecommunications infrastructure.
The Wafa news agency reported that Palestinians around the Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis were forced to move towards the Israeli-designated humanitarian zone late on Thursday, despite subsequent attacks on Friday.
Medical sources noted that Israeli forces directly contacted those in the vicinity of the hospital, amid the communications blackout, declaring the area a “military operations zone” and ordering to leave.
The health ministry in Gaza warned that the targeting of the medical centre, the only facility south of the Gaza Strip that provides specialised treatment, could lead to a complete collapse of healthcare services.
A large number of residents from Khan Younis have fled from the Nasser Medical Complex area and Al-Dhahra in central Khan Younis to the Al-Mawasi area in western Khan Younis, following military threats of an imminent operation in the city center.
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Israel has repeatedly targeted the medical infrastructure in Gaza, particularly the north, with the ministry indicating that the systematic attacks are now targeting the south's healthcare.
"The Nasser Medical Complex is the only place in the Southern Governorate that provides specialized services such as dialysis, nurseries, intensive care, and surgical procedures. Its cessation would mean the deaths of hundreds of patients and a humanitarian disaster," the ministry said.
Continued communication blackout
On Thursday, all internet and landline telecommunications services were completely cut off, the Gaza Government Emergency Operations Room for Interventions announced in Gaza.
Israel launched a direct attack on the last remaining main fiber optic route connecting Gaza, which the operations room indicated is a "deliberate and dangerous escalation" that aims to "dismantle the telecommunications infrastructure in Gaza".
The blockaded enclave's southern and central governorated were affected by the destruction, joining Gaza City and the northen region, which have been disconnected since the beginning of the week.
According to the operations room, the blackout, alongside wide-scale electricity outages and fuel shortage, have further deepened the crisis in Gaza.
Israel's war on Gaza has killed over 55,200 people, leaving at least 127,800 wounded since 7 October 2023.
A number of states and international organisations have designated the killings as genocide.
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