In the southern Gaza Strip, eyewitnesses reported that Israeli warplanes carried out night raids on areas east of Khan Younis, areas from which the occupation army had previously withdrawn under the agreement.
Meanwhile, military vehicles fired their machine guns heavily east of the cities of Khan Yunis and Rafah, and Israeli warships opened fire in the open sea off the two cities.
In the northern Gaza Strip, witnesses reported that Israeli warplanes launched several raids on the eastern areas of Gaza City, which are still under the control of the occupying army.
A medical source reported that the Israeli occupation army shot and killed a Palestinian woman on Saturday in an area of Beit Lahia town, north of the Gaza Strip.
A second Palestinian woman was also killed on Saturday by Israeli gunfire in the town of Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip, within areas from which the army withdrew under the ceasefire agreement.
Four Palestinians were seriously injured in an Israeli artillery bombardment that targeted the town of Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip on Friday evening.
In the central Gaza Strip, witnesses said that Israeli warplanes carried out a violent raid inside areas where the occupation army was deployed east of the central governorate, at the same time as Israeli helicopters fired towards the eastern areas of Deir al-Balah city
In this context, the office of the spokesperson for the Secretary-General of the United Nations said on Friday evening that about one million people, or nearly half of the population of the Gaza Strip, are still in dire need of shelter assistance, despite the distribution of thousands of tents and hundreds of thousands of blankets and relief supplies since the ceasefire came into effect.
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs explained that the harsh winter conditions exacerbated the suffering of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians living in temporary tents damaged by rain, wind and sea waves, noting the major challenges facing the water and sanitation sectors due to damaged infrastructure, fuel shortages and difficulty accessing landfills.
The office added that despite these obstacles, teams supported by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) have been able to remove about 1,000 tons of solid waste per month since the ceasefire, in an effort to reduce health risks, especially to children.
This escalation comes within the framework of Israel’s continued violations of the ceasefire agreement that came into effect on October 10, which has since resulted in the martyrdom of 414 Palestinians and the injury of 1,145 others, according to the latest data from the Ministry of Health in Gaza.
Since October 8, 2023, the Israeli occupation army has continued its war of extermination on the Gaza Strip, which has resulted in the martyrdom of more than 71,000 Palestinians and the injury of about 171,000, most of them children and women, in addition to widespread destruction affecting nearly 90% of the civilian infrastructure, with reconstruction costs estimated by the United Nations at about $70 billion.
