GAZA STRIP: Gaza’s civil defense 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 Israeli 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 of people.
“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 defense 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 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.
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 added.
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,” and accusing Hamas of preventing residents from fleeing.
Gaza rescuers say over 400 killed in two weeks of Israeli assault on territory’s north
https://arab.news/jqnge
Gaza rescuers say over 400 killed in two weeks of Israeli assault on territory’s north
- “We have recovered more than 400 martyrs from the various targeted areas, Gaza civil defense agency spokesman, Mahmud Bassal, told AFP
- “There are dozens of bodies scattered in the streets of Jabalia due to continuous shelling“
Iraq announces complete withdrawal of US-led coalition from federal territory
- The vast majority of coalition forces had withdrawn from Iraqi bases under a 2024 deal between Baghdad and Washington
- US and allied troops had been deployed to Iraq and Syria since 2014 to fight the Daesh group
BAGHDAD: Iraq said on Sunday US-led coalition forces had finished withdrawing from bases within the country’s federal territory, which excludes the autonomous northern Kurdistan region.
“We announce today... the completion of the evacuation of all military bases and leadership headquarters in the official federal areas of Iraq of advisers” of the US-led coalition, the military committee tasked with overseeing the end of the coalition’s mission said.
With the withdrawal, “these sites come under the full control of Iraqi security forces,” it said in the statement, adding that they would transition to “the stage of bilateral security relations with the United States.”
The vast majority of coalition forces had withdrawn from Iraqi bases under a 2024 deal between Baghdad and Washington outlining the end of the mission in Iraq by the end of 2025 and by September 2026 in the Kurdistan region.
US and allied troops had been deployed to Iraq and Syria since 2014 to fight the Daesh group, which had seized large swathes of both countries to declare their so-called “caliphate.”
The militant group, also known as “Islamic State,” was territorially defeated in Iraq in 2017 and in Syria in 2019, but continues to operate sleeper cells.
The vast majority of coalition troops withdrew from Iraq over previous stages, with only advisers remaining in the country.
The military committee on Sunday said Iraqi forces were now “fully capable of preventing the reappearance of IS in Iraq and its infiltration across borders.”
“Coordination with the international coalition will continue with regards to completely eliminating IS’s presence in Syria,” it added.
It pointed to “the coalition’s role in Iraq offering cross-border logistical support for operations in Syria, through their presence at an air base in Irbil,” the capital of Iraq’s Kurdistan region.
In December, two US soldiers and a civilian interpreter were killed in Syria in an attack blamed on IS, sparking fears of a resurgence in the country.
The statement added that anti-IS operations would be coordinated with the coalition through the Ain Assad base in Anbar province in western Iraq.
IS attacks in Iraq have massively declined in recent years, but the group maintains a presence in the country’s mountainous areas.
A UN Security Council report in August said: “In Iraq, the group has focused on rebuilding networks along the Syrian border and restoring capacity in the Badia region.”
