• More images of stripped Palestinians in Israeli custody emerge, but Tel Aviv brushes aside international outrage
• UN chief regrets Security Council’s failure to vote on ceasefire, promises to keep trying
• Gaza’s largest hospital turned into ‘living hell’

GAZA: Israeli tanks blasted their way into the heart of Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip — the refuge for hundreds of thousands of civilians who fled other parts of the enclave on Tel Aviv’s orders — as Hamas said Israeli forces were mounting “very violent raids”.

At the opposite end of the Gaza Strip, residents also described some of the most intense fighting of the war so far.

Intense fighting was reported in Jabalia and Gaza City’s Shejaiya district, while the Israeli army said on Sunday that it had struck over 250 targets in the previous 24 hours.

The fighting has claimed at least 17,700 lives in Gaza since Oct 7.

Residents of Khan Yunis said tanks had reached the main north-south road through the middle of Khan Yunis after intense combat through the night that had slowed the Israeli advance from the east. Warplanes were pounding the area west of the assault.

The air rumbled with the constant thud of explosions and thick columns of white smoke rose over the city. As morning broke near a city-centre police station, the constant rattle of machinegun fire could be heard. Streets there were deserted apart from an old woman and a girl riding on a donkey cart.

UN chief’s promise

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he will not give up appealing for a humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza, adding that the war undermined the credibility and authority of the Security Council.

He regretted the Security Council’s failure to offer solutions to the war, two days after a US veto prevented a resolution calling for a ceasefire.

“Regrettably, the Secu­rity Council failed to do it, but that does not make it less necessary,” he said.

Addressing Qatar’s Doha Forum, Guterres said the body’s “authority and credibility were severely undermined” by its del­ayed response to the conflict.

“Regrettably, the Secu­rity Council failed” to call for a ceasefire, he added. “I can promise, I will not give up.”

Israel dismisses outcry

Also on Sunday, Israel’s army dismissed outcry over footage showing scores of stripped Pales­tinians in Gaza, saying it was part of routine searches, while Palestin­ians insisted the men were “unarmed civilians”.

But Reuters images taken by photojournalists embedded with IDF during operations in Gaza and dated Dec 8, showed that the practice continues despite international outrage.

Footage of men stripped down to their underwear, with some of them appearing to hand over weapons, was aired by Israeli media on Thursday, reporting the alleged surrender of Hamas militants.

The latest video clips have already circulated and sparked outrage on social media. A preliminary AFP Factcheck review suggested one of the scenes was filmed in Beit Lahia, in the northern Gaza Strip, though geolocating the footage precisely was difficult.

In another clip, of which AFP was unable to confirm the location, a group of blindfolded men are seen sitting with their hands tied behind their backs as Israeli soldiers watch them.

“It is often necessary for terror suspects to hand over their clothes such that their clothes can be searched and to ensure that they are not concealing explosive vests or other weaponry,” the Israeli army claimed.

Living hell in Gaza’s main hospital

Hundreds of makeshift tents stand in a desolate landscape at the foot of Gaza City’s ruined Al-Shifa hospital.

At least 30,000 people have taken refuge in its grounds between piles of rubble and waste after Israeli forces raided the medical facility last month, an AFP correspondent reported from the hospital.

Its medical equipment was heavily damaged and is now virtually unusable.

Food is scarce, too, but Gazans still come in search of what little safety a hospital — supposedly protected under international law — can afford as the shelling rumbles on.

AFP spoke to Gazans lacking everything from baby milk to tarpaulins for shelter from the rain and cold.

Mohammed Daloul arrived at Al-Shifa “with great difficulty” and described shelling and shooting around the hospital.

The 38-year-old, who fled with his wife and three children, said the artillery fire had not stopped for “several days”.

He was unable to take anything from his house in the ruined Zeitoun district of Gaza City’s old neighbourhood.

“Our life has become a living hell, there’s no electricity, no water, no flour, no bread, no medicine for the children who are all sick,” he told AFP.

“All we can think about is survival”, he said.

Hospitals have been hit repeatedly. On Sunday, Gaza’s health ministry reported damage from a strike at the Jordanian field hospital in the southern city of Khan Yunis.

Gazans are desperate.

Souhail Abou Dhalfa said his family sought refuge at Al-Shifa after his 20-year-old son was wounded when their house was hit by relentless bombardment in Shejaiya, in the east of Gaza City.

“We put together a tent”, the 56-year-old said. “We don’t know if they will storm Al-Shifa again, and it doesn’t matter — wherever we go, death will follow us.” Raed, who gave only his first name, has been sleeping on an old blanket under the stairs near the former emergency ward.

The 24-year-old’s family of nine has no money for a tent, he said.

His eight-year-old sister Manal sleeps with her head on a bundle of clothes.

Beside her, their mother keeps watch over a bottle of water, some bread and cheese.

Published in Dawn, December 11th, 2023