Israeli Strikes Destroy Mosque in Gaza Amid Escalating Tensions

UNICEF spokesperson James Elder, who is in Khan Younis in southern Gaza, has told Al Jazeera Palestinians in Gaza are once again full of fear after the resumption of Israel’s military offensive.

Speaking from outside the Nasser hospital, he said ambulances had already started transporting people to the largest active remaining complex in the enclave.

“Hospital staff obviously have already been working 24/7,” he said.

“This hospital, despite the immense efforts of its brave health staff, cannot take another assault. People cannot take another assault.”

Elder also reminded that thousands of people sleep in the Nasser hospital – beyond the fact it is working at 200 percent capacity for patients who need medical care.

Also from northern Gaza, Yousri Alghoul,  recounted hearing shelling and gunfire at the Shati refugee camp while fleeing to the Jabalia refugee camp earlier today. He expressed distress over finding dead bodies in the streets and described the desperate search for a secure place amid the turmoil.

“That is what’s happening right now, and just 15 minutes ago, we also heard a new explosion, which is next to us in Jabalia. It seems that Israeli occupation forces got legitimacy from the United States last night,” he told Al Jazeera.

Alghoul said that “shelling is everywhere” in the Gaza Strip.

Even during the truce, people continued to die by Israeli gunfire in the Palestinian enclave with two reported killed on Wednesday, the UN reports.

The circumstances around the killings in northern Gaza remained unclear, though shootings by Israeli forces were also reported on Thursday in Gaza City, and Israeli navy ships fired shells towards Gaza’s southern coast, according to the UN.

The devastating impact includes over 15,500 Palestinian deaths, with nearly 1.5 million internally displaced people, along with the deliberate targeting of cultural and religious sites, exacerbating the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.