Israel pushes tanks into Jabalia, ups military pressure on Rafah

Rafah (Gaza Strip), May 12

Israel sent tanks into eastern Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip early on Sunday after a night of heavy aerial and ground bombardments, killing 19 people and wounding several others.

The death toll in Israel’s military operation in Gaza has now passed at least 35,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s health ministry. Jabalia is the biggest of Gaza’s eight historic refugee camps and is home to more than 100,000 people, most of whom were descendants of Palestinians who were driven from towns and villages in what is now Israel during the 1948 Arab-Israeli war that led to the creation the state of Israel.

Late on Saturday, the Israeli military said forces operating in Jabalia were preventing Hamas, which rules Gaza, from re-establishing its military capabilities there.

Israeli military’s spokesperson Admiral Daniel Hagari said Israeli forces operating in Gaza City’s Zeitoun district killed about 30 militants.

Israeli forces thrust deep into Jabalia camp, deeper than the first time when they invaded northern Gaza, with tanks close to the local market, residents said. They also reported the fiercest gun battles in months there. “They were bombing everywhere, including near schools that are housing people who lost their houses” Jabalia resident Saed, 45, said. “War is restarting, this is how it looks in Jabalia.”

The army sent tanks back into Zeitoun, as well as Al-Sabra, where residents also reported heavy bombardments. — Reuters