Israeli occupation forces advanced on Friday morning into the western areas of Beit Lahia city, north of the Gaza Strip, amidst an intense atmosphere marked by gunfire and artillery shelling. Over the last sixteen months, Beit Lahia has suffered devastating bombardments, leaving the city nearly in ruins. The return to violence followed a breach of a ceasefire agreement just three days prior. Many analysts express concern that the relentless military operations aim to achieve the stated objective of ethnic cleansing of Gaza's 2.4 million Palestinian residents.
According to eyewitnesses reporting to Anadolu Agency, the artillery forces significantly escalated their presence, firing heavily upon the city, which has virtually been annihilated throughout the ongoing war. The director of the Indonesian Hospital in the area reported that 43 martyrs and 82 wounded had been treated after a particularly “difficult night” for the residents of northern Gaza.
Further escalation followed as Israeli warplanes launched airstrikes, including one that targeted a house on Al-Sina’a Street in the Tal Al-Hawa neighborhood, situated southwest of Gaza City. In a tragic turn of events, local sources confirmed that Israeli drones bombed the dwelling of ABC News journalist Hussam al-Titi, leading to the deaths of him, his wife, and their daughter. The continuous targeting of journalists has been a disturbing aspect of Israel’s assault; indeed, over 200 journalists have lost their lives during this period, many rumored to have been specifically targeted along with their families.
In the Tel al-Sultan neighborhood, located west of Rafah, Israeli artillery continued its assault on civilian homes. Medical authorities reported that 65 martyrs had arrived at the European Hospital since the dawn of Thursday, following a merciless series of airstrikes focusing on civilian structures in Rafah and Khan Yunis, further deepening the tragedy of countless families affected. By Friday morning, a total of at least 95 martyrs and 133 wounded had been documented across hospitals in the Gaza Strip since the prior day, attributable to what many are calling massacres carried out by Israeli forces against Palestinian citizens.
The Israeli forces had resumed their aggression on Gaza on Tuesday, March 18, 2025, after a halt exceeding two months. This resurgence has already claimed more than 591 lives, predominantly women and children, while hundreds of others suffer injuries from this onslaught. As the situation deteriorates, fears regarding the humanitarian crisis continue to escalate, particularly as the blockade severely limits medical and humanitarian efforts.
On March 20, the Israeli military announced the commencement of ground operations in Rafah, marking a new phase in their military strategy with the intent to expand military activities across the southern Gaza Strip, while simultaneously targeting critical infrastructure. This includes the blocking of civilian movement across the Salah al-Din axis joining northern to southern Gaza, following an announcement made on March 19 detailing troop deployment along the Netzarim axis, which serves as a division between northern Gaza and the rest of the region.
Since the initiation of hostilities on October 7, 2023, Israeli forces have been responsible for over 48,572 Palestinian casualties, a figure that alarmingly includes a substantial percentage of children and women, with more than 112,032 individuals reported injured. Tragically, many victims remain unaccounted for, buried beneath the rubble that former neighborhoods and homes once occupied. The situation in Gaza illustrates not only the extreme humanitarian crisis faced by the civilian population but also raises pressing questions and concerns for the international community about the ongoing conflict.
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