Don't forget north Gaza. Five things about Israel's siege within a siege

More than 2,000 civilians have been killed in northern Gaza amid a campaign of genocide and ethnic cleansing by Israeli forces, which is now in its 39th day, the enclave’s media office said.

Ismail al-Thawabta, the office's director, told Anadolu Agency that the attacks have disproportionately affected women, children and the elderly.

Al-Thawabta called on the international community to intervene immediately, condemning the Israeli actions as a campaign of mass extermination against Palestinians in Gaza, particularly in the north.

He attributed responsibility for the humanitarian crisis to the US, UK and European nations, accusing them of complicity in policies of “starvation and mass killing.”

'Safe zones' are not safe

Al-Thawabta also accused Israel of misleading the global community with “false maps” showing expanded “safe zones” for civilians in Gaza.

He said that despite these zones being marked as “safe,” they are frequently bombarded.

“The Israeli military distributes maps with yellow-colored areas labeled as humanitarian and safe, only to target these areas with bombs and missiles, resulting in civilian casualties, including women, children and the elderly,” he said.

He cited several areas, including the Al Mawasi area west of Khan Younis and Deir al-Balah, where genocides occurred against civilians despite Israeli claims of safety.

On Monday, Ghassan Alian, the Israeli Defence Ministry's coordinator of government activities in the Palestinian territories, shared a map on the social media platform X claiming an expanded safe zone in Al Mawasi.

However, Gaza officials said Israeli forces continue to strike within this zone, most recently targeting a shelter near displaced persons’ tents in Khan Younis, killing 11 people.

Israel blocks humanitarian aid and supplies

Al-Thawabta slammed Israel for blocking essential humanitarian aid from entering Gaza, noting that food and medicine have not been allowed through.

The closure of the Rafah crossing, a vital aid route with Egypt, for the past 190 days has led to severe shortages of essential supplies, he said.

He estimated that roughly 600,000 tons of aid and food supplies remain stuck on the Egyptian side of Rafah, with Israel refusing to permit entry.

Famine risk

International and UN agencies recently warned that northern Gaza is on the verge of a famine.

According to aid organisations, critical shortages of food, clean water and medical supplies have made survival increasingly dire for residents in the north.

In recent weeks, similar crises have spread southward as food staples, particularly flour, have been exhausted in markets and homes across central and southern Gaza.

In many cases, families have resorted to using spoiled flour to feed their children as well as other unsafe substitutes, raising further health concerns among an already vulnerable population.

Left on streets to die

As ambulances struggle to reach the wounded in northern Gaza, some have attempted to walk to the nearest hospitals, only to be targeted in the streets, according to witnesses.

Witnesses also reported that dozens of people, either killed or wounded, remain unreachable due to the risk of being targeted by Israeli drones and warplanes, which would strike any moving object in the streets.

Displaced Palestinians have resorted to using bicycles and donkey carts after receiving Israeli military evacuation orders, though these evacuations offer no guarantee of safety, as many were killed during the process. Witnesses stated that dead bodies were left in the streets.

Israel’s evacuation orders meet ethnic cleansing definition

Human Rights Watch said in a report released on Thursday that Israel's repeated evacuation orders in Gaza amount to the "war crime of forcible transfer", and to "ethnic cleansing" in parts of the Palestinian territory.

"Human Rights Watch has amassed evidence that Israeli officials are... committing the war crime of forcible transfer", the HRW report said, adding that "Israel's actions appear to also meet the definition of ethnic cleansing" in the areas where Palestinians will not be able to return.

Northern Gaza has been under a full military blockade since Israel’s ground invasion began on October 27, 2023, compounding a pre-existing scarcity of food, medicine and fuel that has led to widespread suffering, particularly among children and the elderly.

Israel has continued a devastating offensive on Gaza since an attack by the Palestinian resistance group Hamas in October 2023, despite a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire.

Nearly 43,700 people have since been killed in Gaza, mostly women and children, and over 103,000 injured, according to Palestinian health authorities.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its deadly war on Gaza.