As the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) deepen their military operations in Gaza, the situation on the ground has become dire for many civilians who have refused to heed numerous IDF warnings to vacate the area. Some civilians have decided to stay out of ideological alignment with Hamas however, the majority have been prevented from leaving by militants who employ the use of human shields as they launch attacks against Israeli soldiers.
Israeli airstrikes and ground incursions across the strip have claimed the lives of at least 20 Palestinians, mostly militants in just one day, the majority in the northern region, further exacerbating the devastation in an enclave already facing widespread destruction. Hospitals and shelters, vital lifelines for thousands of displaced civilians but used by militants as bases of operations, are now under siege, with Israeli forces ordering residents to move south while cutting off crucial humanitarian aid.
The health crisis is mounting, with the Hamas-run Gaza Ministry of Health and the World Health Organization (WHO) announcing that a planned polio vaccination campaign for over 120,000 children in northern Gaza has been postponed due to the escalating violence. Israel, however has continued to vaccinate Palestinians in southern Gaza in coordination with the World Health Organization. According to the Israeli department that oversees this program, over 91% of the target population has been vaccinated. According to officials, the intense bombardments, mass displacements, and lack of access to key areas have made it impossible to continue this vital health initiative. This delay follows the tragic paralysis of a child, the first case of polio in the strip in over 25 years, as the specter of disease looms large over a population already grappling with war.
#BREAKING: The IDF says it eliminated 3 Hezbollah sector commanders and around 70 other terrorists in southern Lebanon. Meanwhile, in Gaza, IDF forces have uncovered weapons, destroyed terror infrastructure, and killed numerous terrorists in the Jabaliya area. pic.twitter.com/ggAkeW7GXC
— Israel War Room (@IsraelWarRoom) October 23, 2024
A Campaign of Unrelenting Force
Israeli military operations, launched three weeks ago in northern Gaza with the stated goal of preventing Hamas militants from regrouping, have only intensified since the targeted assassination of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar last week. Israeli forces, bolstered by support from the United States and other allies, claim that the death of Sinwar has dealt a significant blow to Hamas leadership, offering a potential turning point in the conflict. However, instead of scaling back, Israel’s ground and air campaign has escalated, focusing heavily on northern Gaza, where Hamas has reportedly regrouped in the ruins of neighborhoods destroyed by earlier strikes.
On Friday, Israeli military officials confirmed the deployment of another army unit to Jabalia, one of the most densely populated regions in the northern Gaza Strip. Reports from the ground paint a harrowing picture of a population besieged, with troops surrounding refugee shelters and hospitals, forcing civilians to once again flee the area. Men of fighting age have been rounded up in what medics and residents describe as a growing humanitarian catastrophe. So far, more than 650 Palestinians have been killed since the latest offensive began, with at least 18 of the 20 fatalities reported on Wednesday occurring in northern Gaza alone. The Israelis have claimed that they have neutralized close to a thousand militants in this offensive, with videos and images showing many militants surrendering to Israeli troops.
A hundred Hamas terrorists arrested in Jabaliya and preparing to be questioned by the IDF and the Shin Bet.
— Ph.Gritti (@Philipp27960841) October 23, 2024
-Jabaliya camp is considered one of the largest sources of fighters in Hamas pic.twitter.com/O8ObwjS9KX
Humanitarian Desperation Amid Unyielding Siege
The humanitarian crisis in Gaza has spiraled though. Bodies of the dead, mostly young men of fighting age, are scattered on roadsides and buried under rubble as medical teams struggle to reach them amid relentless Israeli strikes. Hamas has used these images to foster continued outrage against Israel, and have also claimed that hospitals are buckling under the sheer magnitude of the Israeli offensive, with supplies running low. This, however appears to be an intentional strategy of Israel to force Hamas to surrender. For nearly a year, Hamas has used civilians and the aid coming to them to sustain themselves. Israel's plan is to literally starve Hamas into submission, and while it is doing everything in its power to ensure that civilians get what they need, the ones who have stayed behind are caught up in this.
Israel has though, facilitated humanitarian aid deliveries, including the transfer of 237 trucks containing food, medicine, and other necessities over the past eight days, yet Palestinian health officials and residents in northern Gaza argue that no aid has reached the hardest-hit areas such as Hamas strongholds of Jabalia, Beit Hanoun, and Beit Lahiya. The lack of access to these towns is being exacerbated by Israeli operations aimed at destroying Hamas military infrastructure, which Israeli officials have proven throughout their campaign is hidden amidst civilian areas.
The IDF and COGAT announced that over 230 trucks carrying humanitarian aid, including food, water, medical supplies, and shelter equipment, have been sent to the northern Gaza Strip. The trucks, totaling 237 since last Monday, were transferred via the Allenby Bridge and the Port… pic.twitter.com/XPOCYWch8C
— ILRedAlert (@ILRedAlert) October 22, 2024
Global Diplomatic Efforts in Limbo
As the situation in Gaza worsens, diplomatic efforts to broker a ceasefire have gained little traction. Hamas refuses to negotiate, insisting the only way they will agree to a ceasefire is if Israeli forces withdraw completely from the enclave and release thousands of Palestinians in Israeli prisons for terror-related offenses. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, after visiting Israel, has made a direct appeal for a ceasefire and is currently engaged in shuttle diplomacy in the Middle East, including talks with Saudi Arabia. This marks the most significant U.S. intervention in the conflict since Sinwar’s killing and is seen as a critical step ahead of the upcoming U.S. presidential election on November 5, a political milestone that could have profound implications for American foreign policy in the region.
Washington has urged Israel to allow more humanitarian aid into Gaza, and Israeli officials, while expressing a commitment to operate within international law, continue to prioritize military objectives. The IDF has stated that they have been providing safe corridors for civilians to evacuate northern Gaza and have killed “scores of Hamas militants” in the process. Still, the scale of civilian casualties and displacements has sparked growing international outrage, even among Israel’s closest allies.
The second round of the vaccination campaign against polio was completed in southern Gaza yesterday.
— COGAT (@cogatonline) October 23, 2024
266,273 children under 10 were vaccinated in the area - 91% of the targeted amount.
The vaccination campaign in northern Gaza will begin in the coming days, after a joint…
A Crisis of Unimaginable Scale
As the death toll climbs, with estimates nearing 43,000 since the start of Israel’s latest offensive, Gaza’s population of 2.3 million has been displaced multiple times over. The Israeli campaign, which was launched in response to the brutal October 7, 2023, Hamas-led terror attack that killed 1,200 Israelis and saw 250 civilians taken hostage, shows no sign of abating. Israel has vowed to dismantle Hamas’ infrastructure entirely.
The conflict has pushed Gaza to the brink of collapse. With hospitals running out of basic medical supplies and even the most essential vaccinations for children halted due to the bombardment, the human toll is catastrophic. The world watches, divided over the moral and political calculus of the ongoing war, as a humanitarian disaster of unimaginable scale unfolds on the ground.
