Israel has destroyed more than 1,500 residential buildings in a Gaza City neighbourhood which has been under assault for weeks, as the military presses ahead with a ground invasion of the enclave’s north.
Gaza’s Civil Defence spokesman Mahmoud Basal said "more than 1,500 buildings have been completely destroyed in the Al-Zeitoun neighbourhood, southeast of Gaza City, since the start of the Israeli ground operation on August 6."
Basal pointed out that the southern part of Al-Zeitoun "has been razed to the ground, with no buildings left standing."
He said the Israeli army was using excavators and heavy machinery along with explosive robots at a rate of seven explosions per day.
He added that the use of quadcopter drones has compounded the scale of the destruction, revealing that 80 percent of Al-Zeitoun’s residents have been displaced to the west or north of Gaza City.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s cabinet approved earlier in August a plan to occupy the Gaza Strip, focusing the new offensive – dubbed 'Gideon's Chariots 2' – on the northern part of the territory.
The occupation plans have been condemned worldwide. They have put a stop to ceasefire efforts and worsened an already catastrophic humanitarian situation where hundreds of people, including children, have died of starvation due to an ongoing Israeli siege.
More than 62,900 Palestinians have been killed since the start of the war on 7 October 2023, according to the Gaza health ministry. The true death toll is believed to be much higher because thousands of uncounted victims are trapped under the rubble of destroyed buildings.
Basal said the town of Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip was also experiencing similar conditions to Al-Zeitoun with constant shelling and airstrikes, but no Israeli ground invasion as of yet.
The humanitarian situation is "catastrophic" he says, "with a major collapse in the civil defence system, a severe shortage of health and relief services, and the absence of any shelters or safe places for the displaced."
Basal slammed Israel’s claims that it had set up "safe zones" for displaced civilians as a lie.
"How can there be safe areas after Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis and a camp for displaced persons east of Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah were targeted, while Rafah is entirely under Israeli control?" he asked, referring to cities in the south and centre of the Gaza Strip.
Dozens of families have been forced to flee their homes in the Jabalia al-Nazla area because of the Israeli attack.
On Wednesday, the Israeli army announced the establishment of a new engineering battalion under the Givati Brigade, joining the army's forces in its military operations in the town of Jabalia.