Gaza rescuers say over 400 killed in two weeks of Israeli assault on territory's north

Thick smoke billows over buildings following an Israeli airstrike on Beirut's southern suburbs on October 19, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hezbollah. [AFP]

Gaza's civil defence agency said Saturday more than 400 Palestinians were killed in the north of the territory over the past two weeks during an ongoing military assault Israel says is aimed at preventing Hamas militants from regrouping.

The military launched a sweeping air and ground assault targeting northern Gaza on October 6. Since then, it has tightened its siege, which has displaced tens of thousands.

"We have recovered more than 400 martyrs from the various targeted areas in the northern Gaza Strip, including Jabalia and its camp, Beit Lahia and Beit Hanoun, since the start of the military operation by the occupation army" on October 6, Gaza civil defence agency spokesman, Mahmud Bassal, told AFP.

"There are dozens of bodies  scattered in the streets of Jabalia due to continuous shelling."

The Israeli military press department when contacted by AFP said it was "checking" the reports.

Bassal said the death toll from the Israeli operation up to Friday was 386.

"In addition to that we had 33 martyrs from a massacre in Jabalia. So, the total is now more than 400 martyrs in northern Gaza," he said, referring to an Israeli air strike on Jabalia refugee camp overnight from Friday to Saturday.

Bassal said the dead included women, children and the elderly.

"They were all transferred to the northern Gaza Strip hospitals of Kamal Adwan, Al-Awda and Indonesian," said Bassal.

"There are a number of pleas from families being bombed inside Jabalia camp... but it is difficult for our teams to reach the bombed sites," Bassal said.

'People lost everything'

Witnesses told AFP that air strikes continued to pound Jabalia and other areas in the north on Saturday.

The ongoing assault has led to mass displacement of people across northern Gaza, the latest such movement of residents in more than a year of war.

"Another 20,000 people were forced to flee Jabalia camp yesterday (Friday) seeking safety" including in shelters run by the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, its chief Philippe Lazzarini said on X.

"People lost everything. They need everything including food, water, blankets and mattresses: the basic of the basic."

"Critical shortages of fuel and medical supplies are reported in the last remaining hospitals. Fuel shortages also affect access to water," Lazzarini added.

In several areas, communication and internet networks have been cut off, making it difficult for rescue teams to reach those in need of help.

"This affects the ability of citizens to contact our teams and other medical services," Bassal said.

On October 6, the Israeli military launched an intense assault on Jabalia, which it later expanded to other areas of north Gaza amid claims that Hamas was regrouping in the area.

So far, it has said "dozens of terrorists" have been killed in the operation, which aid agencies have warned was leading to a fresh humanitarian crisis in the territory.

"In the Jabalia area, IDF troops eliminated several terrorists in close-quarters encounters and IAF (air force) strikes," the military said in a statement on Saturday.

The Israeli military has defended the campaign in northern Gaza, saying its forces were targeting "terrorists embedded inside civilian areas", while accusing Hamas of preventing residents from fleeing.