The siege of Jabalia, also known as the Jabalia offensive,[13] is an ongoing engagement of the Israel–Hamas war in Jabalia, Gaza Strip, between Israel and Hamas-led Palestinian forces. It began on 5 October 2024 and marks the reentry of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) into the city for the second time since Israel withdrew from Jabalia in May 2024.[14][15] The IDF has imposed a complete siege on northern Gaza, cutting it off from Gaza City by destroying most of the roads leading south and preventing the entry of aid. The siege has exacerbated the Gaza humanitarian crisis.[16]
| Siege of Jabalia | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip during the Israel–Hamas war | |||||||
Gaza Strip under Palestinian control
Gaza Strip under Israeli control
Former occupied territories regained from Israel | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 Israel |
 Hamas | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
|
Ehsan Daksa †[7] |
Unknown | ||||||
| Units involved | |||||||
| Strength | |||||||
 Unknown |
5,000 fighters[9] | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
|
15 soldiers killed or injured 1 Merkava tank damaged |
Per IDF: 20+ Hamas fighters killed[10] | ||||||
Background
The first battle of Jabalia was fought from 8 November 2023 to 31 May 2024, with the IDF encountering "significant resistance" during the fighting[8] and ultimately failing to dismantle Hamas' presence in the city.[17]
In the four months since the Israeli withdrawal, Hamas reportedly reconstituted itself in Jabalia and managed to recruit thousands of new fighters in the area.[8]
Battle
On the evening of 5 October,[4][5] the IDF began its stated operation to dismantle Hamas control in Jabalia, with the Israeli Air Force launching strikes around the area while armored brigades encircled the Jabalia refugee camp.[8]
The IDF advanced into Jabalia and were met by combined attacks from Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP).[8] PIJ launched an attack on an Israeli command and control room belonging to forces attempting to penetrate the Jabalia refugee camp.[18]
On 10 October, Hamas organized an ambush which destroyed an IDF mechanized infantry company of 12 vehicles east of the Jabalia camp.[19][20][21] The IDF said that an Israeli airstrike on a Hamas command and control centre killed at least 12 Hamas and PIJ commanders.[19]
On 13 October, Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that the IDF had reached "the heart of Jabalia" and were dismantling Hamas strongholds there. The IDF also attacked a site from which PIJ had launched rockets at Ashkelon the previous day. On the other hand, Palestinian militant forces continued defensive operations in Jabalia with explosives and rockets.[22]
On 17 October, an Israeli air strike on a joint Hamas-PIJ command and control centre killed 12 militants.[23] On 18 October, Israel sent an additional army unit into Jabalia.[24]
On 20 October, Ehsan Daxa, commander of the IDF's 401st Brigade in Jabalia, was killed in combat.[25][26]
Impact and attacks on civilians
General's Plan
On 6 October 2024, Israel designated all of the northern Gaza Strip, including Jabalia, as a combat zone and ordered the entire civilian population to evacuate.[27][28] Both Israeli military analysts and the Al-Mezan Center for Human Rights alleged that this was the first stage of the "General's Plan", a policy proposed by former Israeli general Giora Eiland to force Palestinians out of Gaza on pain of death.[29] The Israeli human rights organizations Gisha, B'Tselem, Physicians for Human Rights and Yesh Din stated there were "alarming signs" that Israel was implementing the Plan.[30] Three Israeli reserve soldiers in Gaza stated it was their understanding the General's Plan was being practically implemented.[31] The plan has been described by Hamas as genocidal.[13]
On 7 October, the IDF issued evacuation orders for residents of Jabalia, Beit Hanoun, and Beit Lahia, instructing them to travel southwards to the al-Mawasi humanitarian zone.[32] Following these evacuation orders was made more difficult by Israel's ongoing bombardment, as well as drones pursuing and shooting at individuals attempting to flee.[33] Residents reported being trapped in Jabalia, with all roads blocked except the main highway leading out. However, they also stated quadcopters were firing at anyone attempting to leave, with one resident stating, "It’s like hell. We can’t get out."[34]
According to Israeli media, tens of thousands of Palestinians have passed through the IDF security crossing at the Netzarim Corridor to get to the southern Gaza Strip.[22] On 7 October 2024, however, UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric stated many people in northern Gaza was "trapped" in their homes and that "few families have crossed Wadi Gaza heading South".[35] Dr. Mounir al-Bursh, the director-general of the Gaza Health Ministry stated "entire families have disappeared" during Israel's siege and attack on northern Gaza.[36]
Civilian attacks
Per the Palestinian Civil Defense, at least 17 people, including 9 children, were killed in the IDF's initial wave of airstrikes.[18] One of those killed was journalist Hassan Hamad, who was reportedly deliberately targeted by Israel after receiving threats via messages and calls from Israeli officers, ordering him to stop his reporting.[37] After an Israeli airstrike on 11 October that killed at least 22 Palestinians and wounded more than 90, Hamas made a statement the following day condemning what it described as the "Nazi occupation’s massacres" in Jabalia under United States protection.[38]
On 14 October, Al Jazeera Arabic reported the Israeli military was planting explosives in homes to demolish them.[39] The same day, medics reported that Israeli forces fired on civilians waiting for flour at a food distribution centre, killing ten people and wounding dozens.[40] On 16 October, the Gaza Civil Defense stated there were dozens of people trapped under the rubble, and some bodies were laying in the road unable to be rescued.[41]
On 18 October, Al Jazeera Arabic reported a home had been demolished while a family was still inside it, as Jabalia experienced a communications blackout.[42] The blackout was reportedly caused by damage to key infrastructure in Jabalia, including communication towers.[43] Attack drones and ongoing bombings continued preventing the civil defense from rescuing residents trapped under rubble.[44]
Hospitals and healthcare
On 9 October, an Israeli airstrike killed at least 15 people inside Al-Yemen Al-Saeed Hospital in Jabalia, which has housed displaced families.[45] Israel reportedly used a "double tap" bombing, injuring fifteen people in a family home, then targeted an ambulance arriving to help them, killing a doctor.[46] In a statement, the director of Al-Awda Hospital stated, "Israeli forces are targeting everything that moves in northern Gaza".[47]
The Gaza Health Ministry stated Israel had besieged and was directly targeting the Indonesia Hospital, Kamal Adwan Hospital, and Al-Awda Hospital.[48] The Al Awda hospital stated Israeli strikes on the hospital and an ambulance had wounded several medical staff.[49] Kamal Adwan's director stated, "Israeli tanks have completely surrounded the hospital, cut off electricity and shelled the hospital, targeting the second and third floors with artillery".[50]
Reactions
The United Nations Human Rights Office warned that Israel was "effectively sealing off North Gaza" and may be committing a war crime as it was possibly attempting to forcibly transfer the region's civilian population.[51] James Elder, the spokesperson for UNICEF, stated, "We see now what is probably the worst restrictions we've seen on humanitarian aid, ever".[52] In a statement, Oxfam and 37 other humanitarian organizations stated that northern Gaza was being "wiped off the map".[53]
Related shooting attack in Israel
Amid the fighting in Jabalia, Muhammad Dardouna, a native of the city, carried out a shooting attack at Highway 4 near Ashdod, Israel, on 15 October, killing a police officer and four other Israelis. While he was originally from Jabalia, Dardouna had moved to the West Bank several years ago and snuck into Israel to conduct the attack.[54] Hamas called the shooting a "natural response" to Israeli actions in the Palestinian territories.[55]
See also
References
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- ^ "Iran Update, October 11, 2024". Institute for the Study of War. Retrieved 2024-10-11.
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- ^ a b "Dozens killed in Gaza as Israeli army launches new incursion in north". Reuters. 6 October 2024.
Palestinian health officials said at least another 20 people had been killed since Saturday night in northern Gaza, after the army sent tanks into areas there for the first time in months and urged residents to leave.
- ^ a b "Israel launches new ground invasion of northern Gaza, heavy night of bombing recalls beginning of war". Mada Masr. 6 October 2024.
Northern Gaza, particularly the Jabalia camp, witnessed a night of terror as Israel launched a ground incursion into the area on Saturday evening... Missiles began to strike Jabalia around Saturday afternoon and continued without stopping through the night, accompanied by the advance of Israeli military vehicles in northwestern and northeastern parts of the strip...
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