According to local medics, on the night of Saturday, September 27, Israeli strikes killed at least 32 people in Gaza, including 25 in the city itself. The Israeli army continues its offensive on the enclave’s largest city, where hundreds of thousands remain trapped without food or escape, despite international calls for a ceasefire.
On Saturday morning an airstrike destroyed a house in Gaza’s Tuffah district, killing at least 11 people, more than half of them women and children. The bodies were taken to Al-Ahli hospital. Earlier raids in central and northern Gaza hit residential buildings. In Nuseirat refugee camp, nine members of one family—a couple and their children—were killed, according to staff at Al-Awda hospital. Another four people died when a strike hit a home in Shati refugee camp, Al-Shifa hospital reported.
Rescue services are unable to reach dozens of people still trapped under the rubble.
Smoke rises over Gaza during Israel’s military operation. Photo taken from the central part of the strip.
On Friday Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, addressing the UN General Assembly in New York, declared that the country “must finish the job” in Gaza. His speech was met with a mass walkout by delegates, while protests against Israel’s actions took place outside the building.
Pressure on Israel has mounted after a UN inquiry concluded that genocide was being committed in Gaza, and several countries—including the United Kingdom, France, Canada and Australia—announced recognition of Palestinian statehood.
Nearly two weeks into the offensive, Gaza’s healthcare system is close to collapse: two clinics have been destroyed by strikes, two hospitals have shut down after being damaged, and the remaining facilities are barely functioning. Acute shortages of medicine, equipment, food and fuel are compounded by a mass exodus of doctors and nurses.
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On Friday Médecins Sans Frontières announced it was suspending operations in Gaza due to the escalation of fighting. “We had no choice but to halt our work: our clinics are surrounded by Israeli forces,” said Jacob Grainger, the organization’s humanitarian operations coordinator in Gaza. “This was the last thing we wanted, as the needs in Gaza are enormous, and the most vulnerable—infants in intensive care, the severely wounded, and those with life-threatening illnesses—are unable to be evacuated and are in mortal danger.”