By Staff Reporter
Israel escalates devastating attacks on Palestinians in Gaza despite world leaders calling for ceasefire at UN General Assembly.
At least 12 Palestinians, among them seven women and two children, have been killed in a strike on a stadium sheltering displaced families in the Nuseirat refugee camp in Gaza, as Israel pressed ahead with its relentless attacks despite calls for a ceasefire from world leaders at the United Nations General Assembly.
The al-Ahli Stadium, which has been converted into a makeshift refuge for Palestinians fleeing the Israeli onslaught, became the site of another massacre on Wednesday.
“I only had what I had in my hand. I left with nothing,” Najwa, a displaced woman from Gaza City, told Al Jazeera. “We are frightened. Transportation is expensive. We can’t pay to bring our things.”
‘Inflicting terror’
Israel’s assault on Gaza intensified overnight, with at least 85 Palestinians killed across the territory on Wednesday – more than double the number of those killed yesterday.
As the UN warned that Israel’s military is “inflicting terror on the Palestinian population of Gaza City and forcing tens of thousands to flee”, Israeli military chief of staff Eyal Zamir claimed Palestinians were being pushed southward “for their safety”.
But UN investigators have rejected those claims. A commission of inquiry this week concluded that Israel’s actions are aimed at establishing permanent control over Gaza while ensuring a Jewish majority in the occupied West Bank and inside Israel.
Zamir added that “most of Gaza’s population has already left Gaza City” and that the army “will continue a systematic and thorough advance” into the enclave’s largest urban centre.
Since the war began on October 7, 2023, at least 65,419 Palestinians have been killed and 167,160 wounded, with thousands more believed to be buried beneath the rubble. Israel launched what campaigners say is a war of vengeance after 1,139 people were killed in Israel in a Hamas-led attack in October 2023. About 200 were taken captive by the Palestinian fighters, out of which more than 40 still remain in Gaza.
