75 Killed Near Aid Centers as Israel Expands Military Zones
Forced displacement, targeted attacks on civilians, and infrastructure destruction signal mounting war crimes, amid warnings of ethnic cleansing
Palestine, PUREWILAYAH.COM - The Ministry of Health in Gaza announced on Monday that the number of Palestinians killed near aid distribution centers had risen to 75, following the martyrdom of 35 people in a single day on Sunday.
More than 400 people have been wounded in these areas since May 27, when the Israeli occupation began designating specific zones for the distribution of humanitarian aid.
Despite growing international outcry, the Israeli occupation continues its genocidal campaign across the Gaza Strip, targeting civilians and systematically destroying essential infrastructure.
Targeted Strikes on Civilians and Infrastructure
Four Palestinians were martyred when Israeli warplanes targeted a group of people in the al-Faluja area, west of Jabalia refugee camp in the northern part of the besieged territory.
In central Gaza, three municipal workers were killed when Israeli aircraft bombed a municipal vehicle belonging to the town of Al-Zawayda. Several injuries were also reported in the town of Al-Barka, south of Deir al-Balah, following an Israeli airstrike.
In the southern Gaza Strip, one Palestinian was martyred when an Israeli drone dropped a bomb near the Sidra intersection in the town of Abasan al-Kabira.
Meanwhile, Israeli military bulldozers demolished the perimeter wall of the European Hospital in the town of al-Fukhari, east of Khan Younis, further jeopardizing access to vital medical services.
Majority of Gaza Under Military Orders
According to the Financial Times, over 80 percent of Gaza, already one of the world's most densely populated territories even before October 7, 2023, is now subject to Israeli military zones and evacuation orders.
To make matters worse, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has indicated plans to further concentrate Gaza's entire population into a small southern area near the Egyptian border while declaring the remainder of the territory inaccessible.
International Warnings of Ethnic Cleansing
International observers have warned that "Israel's" forced displacement of Gazans toward an arid, resource-starved zone without basic infrastructure such as water, electricity, or medical facilities may constitute ethnic cleansing, while Palestinians increasingly view this as preparation for their mass expulsion from the territory entirely.
“Within a few months... Gaza will be destroyed,” Israeli far-right minister Bezalel Smotrich proclaimed at a May conference, emphasizing that the Palestinians in Gaza will be forced to the southern part of the Strip.
Destruction and Deprivation Across the Strip
While "Israel" has already reduced much of northern Gaza to rubble, its war has extended for weeks into the southern area near the Morag corridor, a zone named after an Israeli settlement that operated from 1972 until "Israel's" 2005 withdrawal from the territory following years of costly and violent occupation.
The remaining territory lacks the necessities to support human life, with the formerly bustling border city of Rafah now largely reduced to ruins and its surrounding sandy landscape stripped of vegetation, while access to fresh water and electricity has been completely severed.
The Morag corridor currently divides the devastated remains of Rafah from Khan Younis, which "Israel" has likewise emptied of its civilian population through forced evacuations, leaving both urban centers abandoned in the wake of military operations.
The displaced families face a reality of extreme overcrowding, creating one of the world's most densely packed human concentrations without the basic infrastructure found in other heavily populated areas, while a complete absence of sanitation systems and running water compounds the dire humanitarian crisis. (PW)
Source: Al-Mayadeen