GAZA: Dozens of Israeli tanks, armoured personnel carriers and bulldozers rolled into southern Gaza on Monday, witnesses said, as Tel Aviv launched efforts to sever connections between Deir al-Balah in central Gaza and Khan Yunis in the south.

Amin Abu Hawli, 59, said the Israeli vehicles were 2km inside Gaza in the village of al-Qarara, while Moaz Mohammed, 34, said Israeli tanks were moving down the strip’s main north-south highway, the Salah al-Din road, with soldiers firing bullets and tank shells at cars and people trying to move through the area.

In the southern Gazan city of Rafah, resident Abu Jahar al-Hajj said that his home had been rocked by an air strike that felt “like an earthquake”.

“The earth shook, and the sound was so loud. Pieces of concrete started falling on us,” he said.

The Israeli army said on Monday that three more soldiers had been killed in fighting in the northern Gaza Strip.

The health ministry in the Gaza Strip said on Monday that 15,899 people had died and 42,000 wounded since Oct 7. Among the victims, 70 per cent were women and children.

Full-scale fighting re­­sumed on Friday after the collapse of a week-long truce, and since then, air strikes have intensified in Gaza’s south, said Unicef spokesperson James Elder.

“Despite what has been assured, attacks in the south of Gaza are every bit as vicious as what the north endured,” he posted Monday on X, formerly Twitter.

The Red Cross president also arrived in war-torn Gaza on Monday, calling for the protection of civilians in the Palestinian territory, where she warned that human suffering was “intolerable”.

“It is unacceptable that civilians have no safe place to go in Gaza, and with a military siege in place there is also no adequate humanitarian response currently possible,” Mirjana Spoljaric added in a statement.

“As a neutral actor, the ICRC stands ready to support further humanitarian agreements that reduce suffering and heartbreak.” She said the purpose of her visit was “to advance efforts that alleviate the desperate humanitarian situation”.

“I will convey my deep concern for the plight of civilians and underline the ICRC’s utmost commitment to doing everything we can to ease their suffering,” she added.

Meanwhile, the World Health Organization’s executive board will hold an emergency session on Dec. 10 to discuss the health crisis in Gaza and the West Bank, with the Palestinian envoy seeking more medical aid and access for foreign healthcare workers.

WHO data shows there have been 427 attacks on healthcare facilities in Palestinian territories since Oct. 7. Only a fraction of Gaza’s hospitals remain operational due to Israeli bombings and a lack of fuel, and those that are still functioning are increasingly overwhelmed by a new wave of wounded arriving.

Published in Dawn, December 5th, 2023