Jabalia: Israeli assault forces Palestinian civil defence to cease operations

The Palestinian civil defence has been forced to suspend its operations in northern Gaza as a result of Israeli attacks on its emergency teams and a fire truck on Wednesday night, leaving the region without humanitarian services.

The agency said that three of its members had been wounded in a “targeted” Israeli air strike.

It also reported that Israeli forces had detained another five first responders in the Sheikh Zayed area and had taken them to “an undisclosed location”.

The organisation added that Israeli tanks shelled the only remaining firefighting vehicle in the area causing it to catch fire. 

In Beit Lahia, it said that it had lost contact with three of its members after they were targeted by an Israeli drone strike, adding that their fate is unknown.

“Our work has completely stopped in the northern governorate and the situation has become catastrophic there, and the citizens there are now without humanitarian services,” the agency said in a statement.

'Our work has completely stopped in the northern governorate and the situation has become catastrophic there'

- Palestinian Red Crescent statement

The organisation added that all hospitals in the region, including the Indonesian, Al-Awda and Kamal Adwan hospitals are besieged by Israeli forces.

The hospital’s directors reported constant shooting and shelling around the hospitals, with Israeli forces targeting anyone moving in or around the facilities.

Medical staff and residents have reported that scores of bodies remain strewn across the streets in Jabalia and Beit Lahia with civil defence teams and ambulances prevented from rescuing the wounded by Israeli fire.

Medical staff also said that the relentless Israeli aggression has barred the World Health Organisation from delivering medical supplies or conducting evacuations.

A Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) orthopaedic surgeon at the Kamal Adwan hospital reported on Wednesday that there are 30 people dead inside the hospital, with another 130 patients in need of urgent medical care.

“There is death in all types and forms in Kamal Adwan hospital and north Gaza. The bombardment does not stop. The artillery does not stop. The planes do not stop. There is heavy shelling, and the hospital is targeted too. It just looks like a movie; it does not seem real,” Dr Mohammed Obeid said in a voice note shared by the NGO.

On 5 October Israel launched its unprecedented military operation in northern Gaza which has killed hundreds and displaced tens of thousands of people from the region.

The offensive followed the presentation of a controversial proposal dubbed the "General's Plan," to the Israeli government.

The plan would see areas north of the Netzarim Corridor, which cuts Gaza in two, emptied of its residents so Israel could establish a "closed military zone".