Israel forces thousands of Palestinians to flee Gaza's Beit Lahia
Israeli forces have displaced thousands of Palestinians seeking shelter in Beit Lahia, a town in northern Gaza, amid a military offensive in the area that has caused widespread ruin.
Palestinians have been forcibly displaced from the town through an Israeli checkpoint where boys and men have been separated from their families, arrested and taken in for questioning, according to the Turkish state-run Anadolu Agency.
A woman who was heading towards the checkpoint told Arab48 that troops forced her husband and disabled 12-year-old son to stay behind, separating her and her other child from them.
"The Israelis took away our men," she said.
Amna Hussein, a woman interviewed by Anadolu Agency, said they were forced to flee the area after Israeli tanks surrounded them and intensified the shelling of shelters.
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“We were forced to exit, leaving our men behind under investigation by the Israeli army," she said.
Hussein added that most of those who remained in northern Gaza had gathered in the Abu Tamam School Complex in Beit Lahia, which has become a shelter for the displaced, as a last-ditch effort to stay.
Panic and fear spread after the Israeli army issued expulsion orders in the complex through speakers mounted on quadcopter drones, witnesses said on Wednesday, causing thousands to flee.
Israeli troops were besieging the school complex, with Palestinians facing severe danger due to the intensification of the shelling, Al Jazeera's correspondent reported.
Planting explosive barrels
The Israeli military launched a new offensive on northern Gaza on 5 October, described by rights groups and experts as part of a plan to ethnically cleanse the area of Palestinians.
It began after a controversial proposal named the "Generals' Plan" was presented to the Israeli government, which 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".
According to the plan, anyone who chooses to stay would be considered a Hamas operative and could be killed.
Between 100,000 and 130,000 Palestinians have been displaced in northern Gaza as a result of the increased Israeli aggression, the Palestinian health ministry stated in its latest report.
Along with a severe deficit in aid and essentials worsened by the forced expulsions and cold weather, Israeli forces have also unleashed a wave of attacks in the heavily populated northern town.
Al Jazeera's correspondent reported earlier this week that Israeli helicopters and drones targeted homes in the area, using bombs and even planting explosive barrels between homes.
Overall, Israeli forces have killed at least 44,580 people and wounded 105,739 since the war on Gaza began on 7 October last year.
'Enduring dire conditions'
In addition, the besieged areas in the north have remained under a debilitating blockade and media blackout since the new offensive was launched in early October, with Israeli forces accused of exacerbating starvation and malnutrition as part of the "Generals' Plan".
Medical workers in Kamal Adwan and Al-Awda hospitals in Beit Lahia and Jabalia said that by early 2024, the lack of food and clean water in the north led to a surge of malnutrition and dehydration cases, according to a report by Amnesty International on Thursday in which the NGO accused Israel of perpetrating a genocide in Gaza.
The medics added that they were unable to provide effective treatment as a result of inadequate supplies, linking Israel's cutting off aid to the shortages.
In a post on X, Al Jazeera reporter Anas al-Sharif described the events taking place in northern Gaza, particularly the displacement, as "beyond comprehension", noting that Palestinians in the area endure poor conditions and lack basic necessities.
"Children, the sick, women and the elderly have been forcibly uprooted from their homes by Israeli forces, now left to sleep on the streets under harsh cold and rain," he said.
"They endure dire humanitarian conditions, completely deprived of the basic necessities of life."
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