Israel kills at least 820 Palestinians in northern Gaza in 22 days

Israeli forces have killed at least 820 Palestinians in a 22-day siege of the northern Gaza Strip, the Gaza government media office said on Saturday.

Israel has blocked the flow of aid to the area and launched a new attack in an apparent attempt to kill, starve or forcibly evict Palestinians from their homes and shelters.

“The Israeli army has killed over 820 Palestinians in just over three weeks in northern Gaza,” said Ismail Thawabta, director of the media office.

“Dozens of bodies lie in the streets and in destroyed homes, while countless Palestinians remain trapped in an area under relentless bombardment,” he added.

Israel has ordered Palestinians in the north to move south to “safe zones.” However, witnesses have reported that they were shot at by Israeli snipers and drones.

Hospitals have also been attacked, with the army bombing and storming the Kamal Adwan Hospital in Beit Lahia on Friday.

The Israeli army attacked the facility's oxygen station, disrupting care for the hospital's many wounded patients and newborns.

Israeli soldiers forced patients and medical staff into the hospital's courtyard on Friday and detained several people from the facility early Saturday.

They also shot at patients and staff inside and killed two children.

Thawabta said services are collapsing amid the Israeli siege.

“The health situation in northern Gaza is dire, with civilians cut off from vital supplies and facilities and aid workers prevented from reaching the injured,” he said.

Israel is accused of trying to ethnically cleanse the northern Gaza Strip as part of the “general's plan” – a strategy proposed in September by a group of Israeli reservists that calls for the displacement of civilians to the north.

The plan also calls for any person who remains in the area after an expulsion order to be considered a combatant.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly denied in talks with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken that the plan was being implemented, but dodged the U.S. official's demands to publicly denounce the plan.

Since October 2023, Israel's war on Gaza has killed at least 42,924 people and injured more than 100,000.

Efforts to broker a ceasefire failed in August and mediators have tried to restart talks in recent days.