- Occupation detonated booby-trapped robots and blew up residential buildings east of Shejaiya, in addition to airstrikes and artillery fire,’ Civil Defense spokesman tells Anadolu
- Spokesman describes Gaza’s humanitarian situation as ‘catastrophic beyond endurance’
GAZA CITY, Palestine / ISTANBUL
The Israeli army continued military operations and home demolitions inside areas under its control in the Gaza Strip on Sunday, despite a ceasefire agreement, local sources said.
The sources told Anadolu that Israeli forces demolished buildings east of the Shejaiya neighborhood in eastern Gaza City overnight Saturday, while artillery shelling hit Beit Lahia in northern Gaza.
Both areas lie east of the so-called “yellow line”, within zones controlled by the Israeli army under the ceasefire arrangement, which covers more than 50% of Gaza’s territory, according to Israeli military estimates.
Civil Defense spokesman Mahmoud Basal told Anadolu that Israeli forces continue their bombardment and demolitions in areas still held by the army.
“Throughout the night, the occupation detonated booby-trapped robots and blew up residential buildings east of Shejaiya, in addition to airstrikes and artillery fire,” he said.
The Gaza Government Media Office earlier confirmed that Israeli home demolitions continued in several areas controlled by the army in the enclave.
Makeshift graves
Basal said Civil Defense teams are still recovering bodies from various parts of Gaza, including areas vacated by the Israeli army under the ceasefire deal, or from under the rubble of destroyed homes.
He added that crews are also relocating bodies from makeshift graves dug during the war to formal cemeteries.
Over the past two years, Palestinians have been forced to bury thousands of bodies in public squares, parks, streets, and schools because reaching official cemeteries was impossible due to Israeli troop deployment and intensive bombardment.
Earlier reports by the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor documented dozens of mass or improvised graves dug across Gaza to bury war victims.
Since the ceasefire took effect on Oct. 10, Civil Defense teams and families have transferred dozens of bodies from makeshift graves to formal cemeteries, after identifying them.
Famine persists
Basal described Gaza’s humanitarian situation as “catastrophic beyond endurance.”
“Everything is disastrous,” he said. “Famine persists, and the entry of aid trucks has not improved. Only commercial trucks loaded with fruit and nonessential goods like nuts have increased.”
He noted that while markets are filled with luxury items, Palestinians who lost their income during the war cannot afford them.
The spokesman denounced Israel’s claims of allowing humanitarian aid, estimating that only about 24% of the agreed number of aid trucks have actually entered Gaza.
Earlier Sunday, Hamas said that only around 136 aid trucks are entering Gaza daily, while the rest are commercial convoys that the impoverished population cannot afford.
Under the ceasefire deal, some 600 aid trucks should be allowed into Gaza to meet the needs of the territory’s population.
Last month, former UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food, Hilal Elver, said that halting the Israeli war on Gaza does not mean an end to Palestinians’ suffering from hunger.
Israel has killed more than 68,800 people, mostly women and children, and injured over 170,600 others in attacks in Gaza since October 2023.