Israel is set to halt airdrops over Gaza City and reduce the entry of relief trucks ahead of a major offensive, a source told CNN, as the Red Cross warned that Israeli plans for mass evacuation were “impossible.”
Israel is preparing to fully capture Gaza’s biggest city after nearly two years of war, despite warnings the campaign will have disastrous and unbearable consequences for Palestinians in the besieged region.
The Israeli military has carried out heavy bombing and ground attacks on Gaza City in recent days, eyewitnesses and Palestinian authorities say, choking vital services and leaving hundreds of thousands of people crammed into an ever-shrinking area.
On Saturday an Israeli strike on Al-Nasr Street, western Gaza City, killed at least 11 Palestinians including six children, local health officials said. Another 25 people were injured, according to Mohammed Abu Salmiya, the director of Al-Shifa Hospital, northern Gaza. The toll is expected to rise.
CNN footage from the courtyard of the hospital showed a row of dead children shrouded in floral blankets. Family members mourn over the small, lifeless bodies, including a toddler wearing a grey onesie with a dinosaur print.
