GAZA, (PIC)
The residents of Beit Hanoun, a town in the northern Gaza Strip, are living under the brutal Israeli bombardment from land and air, the most intense in two months, according to locals from the farthest northern area of Gaza.
The Israeli airstrikes have focused on neighborhoods that had not previously experienced the immense destruction that Beit Hanoun suffered since October 7, 2023, resulting in casualties and injuries amidst systematic destruction of people, buildings, and vegetation.
Bombing of shelters for displaced persons
Local sources tell our reporter that the bombardment has concentrated on areas that served as shelters for residents fleeing the violence in the towns of Jabalia and Beit Lahiya in northern Gaza. Residents in Beit Hanoun affirm that there are attempts by the Israeli occupation forces to destroy the last habitable areas of the town, aiming to empty it of its population and level it to the ground.
Our correspondent reports that the Israeli occupation forces have heavily bombarded all streets, homes, and shelters in the town with their aircraft and artillery, causing widespread devastation. These attacks have forced many families in the town to flee to Gaza City under dire living and humanitarian conditions, while the occupation tightens its siege on the governorate, preventing humanitarian and medical aid from entering.
The Israeli airstrikes completely destroyed the Beit Hanoun garage area and the Shabbat and Gaza streets in the town, according to witnesses. Our reporter said that the occupation forces bombed the vicinity of another shelter in the town that houses at least 300 families displaced from various areas.
This Saturday, the occupation army announced the deployment of a combat team from the Nahal Brigade to fight in the Beit Hanoun area, as part of a large-scale offensive in northern Gaza since October 5, 2024 when the occupation began unprecedented bombardment on the Jabalia camp and Beit Lahiya, followed by a wide-ranging ground invasion of the area.
The Generals’ Plan
A close observer of the events clearly understands the occupation’s intention to occupy areas in northern Gaza and convert them into a buffer zone after forcibly displacing its residents, in what is known as the “Generals’ Plan.” Meanwhile, settler groups are calling for the re-occupation of Gaza Strip and establishing settlements in it.
Ahmed Al-Kafarna, a resident of Beit Hanoun, said that the bombardment on the town is the most intense in two months, predicting the onset of a large ground offensive targeting areas where displaced residents and citizens have gathered, aiming to expel and arrest them.
According to Al-Kafarna in his conversation with our reporter, many citizens have endured the horrors of war and siege and decided to stay in Beit Hanoun; however, the occupation is attempting to expel them by all means. He confirmed that the occupation is committing the most horrific acts of extermination in Beit Hanoun and northern Gaza, in a precise implementation of the Generals’ Plan, calling on everyone to intervene immediately to save whatever can be saved in northern Gaza, which is facing ethnic cleansing.
Displacement under fire
Many citizens have begun to flee under the barrage of gunfire and missiles, walking from Beit Hanoun in the far north to areas in Gaza City, where they sleep on the ground and shelter under the sky amidst a severe cold wave.
Citizen Maysa Al-Masri said that the Israeli occupation army is trying by all means to empty Beit Hanoun and sends messages that those who do not leave will inevitably meet death. She confirmed that life in Beit Hanoun has become impossible under the current conditions, and their endurance during this time is a miracle by all measures, stressing that what they are experiencing is extremely terrifying, as the occupation forces deliberately fire upon them.
