ISTANBUL

The Israeli army launched a large-scale artillery and air assault late Tuesday on northern Gaza focusing on areas around Jabalia and Beit Lahia shortly after issuing an ultimatum for civilians to evacuate.

Airstrikes targeted a house near Al-Furqan Mosque in the Al-Falouja neighborhood of the Jabalia refugee camp, causing an unspecified number of deaths and injuries, according to medical sources.

Artillery fire simultaneously targeted eastern Jabalia, Sheikh Zayed and Beit Lahia, witnesses told Anadolu.

Prior to the bombardment, the Israeli army warned residents in Jabalia and the neighborhoods of Tel al-Zaatar, Sheikh Zayed, Al-Nour, Al-Salam and Al-Rawda to evacuate immediately, labeling it a “final warning.”

Israeli army spokesperson Avichay Adraee urged Gazans to head to “known shelter centers in Gaza City” via a post on X.

Gaza lacks adequate shelters, however, and humanitarian infrastructure remains severely compromised amid the war.

More than 52,900 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza in a brutal Israeli onslaught since October 2023, most of them women and children

The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants last November for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.​​​​​​​

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