Israel kills Hamas spokesperson as hospitals report dozens killed in Gaza City
DEIR AL-BALAH Gaza Strip AP Israel s Defense Minister Israel Katz communicated Sunday that Abu Obeida a spokesperson for Hamas armed wing was killed in Gaza over the weekend Obeida s last message was on Friday as Israel began the initial stages of a new offensive in Gaza City declaring the area a combat zone Hamas has not commented on Israel s claim THIS IS A EMERGING NEWS UPDATE AP s earlier story follows below DEIR AL-BALAH Gaza Strip AP Israel disclosed on Sunday that it had targeted a Gaza-based Hamas spokesperson as hospitals and observers across the enclave announced dozens killed in airstrikes and gunfire Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu disclosed Israel had attacked Abu Obeida the longtime spokesman for Hamas Qassam Brigades but did not know whether he had been killed I hope that he is no longer with us but I do notice there is no one addressing this question on the Hamas side Netanyahu reported ministers at a weekly cabinet meeting Obeida last issued a comment on Friday He mentioned fighters in Gaza City were prepared as Israel declared the city a combat zone and launched the early stages of its offensive Hamas would try to keep the hostages alive he declared while warning that clashes were expected in areas where certain are being held If his death is authenticated he would be the latest Hamas representative targeted and killed by Israel as it attempts to dismantle the group s military maximum and prevent an attack like Oct when militants abducted people and killed around people mostly civilians Hamas has yet to comment on Obeida s status As part of its campaign to destroy Hamas Israel has assassinated a multitude of of its top military and political leadership A death trap At least Palestinians were killed since Saturday the greater part of them in Gaza City according to local hospitals Shifa Hospital the territory s largest stated bodies had been brought to its morgue including people killed while seeking aid and others struck across the city On Sunday morning hospital authorities published more fatalities from strikes and gunfire Al-Awda Hospital revealed seven of them were civilians trying to reach aid Eyewitnesses reported Israeli troops opened fire on crowds in the Netzarim Corridor an Israeli military zone that bisects Gaza We were trying to get food but we were met with the occupation s bullets stated Ragheb Abu Lebda from Nuseirat who saw at least three people bleeding from gunshot wounds It s a death trap The corridor has become increasingly perilous with civilians killed while approaching U N convoys overwhelmed by looters and desperate crowds or shot on their way to sites run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation an Israeli-backed U S contractor Neither the foundation nor the Israeli military responded to questions about Sunday s casualties Malnutrition and displacement Israel has for weeks been operating on the outskirts of Gaza City as well as the Jabaliya refugee camp to prepare for the initial stages of its offensive which it disclosed on Friday Its military has since intensified its air attacks in coastal areas of the city including Rimal Its Arabic-language army spokersperson has urged the hundreds of thousands of Palestinians still in Gaza City to flee south but only tens of thousands have done so Several say they are too exhausted after repeated displacements or unconvinced that anywhere is safer The United Nations says roughly Palestinians have fled their homes since Aug including in the past week Plenty of are living in temporary shelters after multiple displacements More than percent of the million Palestinians in Gaza have been displaced at least once during the war and several multiple times according to the U N Israel has reported new infrastructure projects in southern Gaza and signaled that aid to Gaza City could be cut policies Palestinians say amount to forced displacement Israel has for weeks been operating on the outskirts of Gaza City as well as the Jabaliya refugee camp It also intensified its air attacks in the coastal areas of the city Seven Palestinian adults died of causes related to malnutrition and starvation in the Gaza Strip over the last hours the territory s healthcare ministry communicated Sunday That has brought the death toll from malnutrition-related causes to since late June when the ministry started to count fatalities among this age category it reported Another children died of malnutrition-related causes since the start of the war in October the ministry explained At least Palestinians have died in Gaza during the war declared the ministry which does not say how a large number of are fighters or civilians but says around half have been women and children The ministry is part of the Hamas-run cabinet and staffed by clinical professionals The U N and independent experts consider it the most of reliable source on war casualties Israel disputes the figures but has not provided its own Metz announced from Jerusalem and Magdy from Cairo Melanie Lidman contributed reporting from Tel Aviv Israel Follow AP coverage at https apnews com hub israel-hamas-war Source
