Israeli forces have killed at least 77 Palestinians across Gaza, including 47 people in northern Gaza City, as the military intensifies its campaign to seize the city and displace about one million people living there.
The killings on Saturday included 11 Palestinians who were shot dead while queueing for food aid, and came as the Ministry of Health in Gaza announced that 10 more people had died of malnutrition in the last 24-hour period.
The victims included three children.
In Gaza City, Israeli forces launched three strikes in quick succession, tearing apart an apartment block and killing at least seven people. Several more were wounded, including children.
Al Jazeera’s Hani Mahmoud, reporting from Gaza City, said the attack caused “mayhem and chaos” and damaged the surrounding areas.
“Many children were wounded. They arrived to the hospital fully soaked in their own blood. We saw one child transferred to the hospital who had the flesh of others who were wounded sticking to his back.”
‘We are on the streets’
Mahmoud said the attack was the latest since Israel declared Gaza City a combat zone.
“The military has increased its aerial bombings on densely populated areas, pushing people into further displacement. We are seeing people scrambling for shelter,” he added.
Families fleeing the Israeli military’s relentless bombardment have begun setting up makeshift tents amid miserable conditions near Nuseirat refugee camp and near Deir el-Balah in central Gaza.
Most of them have been forced to leave their homes more than once.
Mohamed Maalouf, 50, told The Associated Press news agency that he and his family of nine had already been displaced from the northern Gaza town of Beit Lahiya.
“We are thrown in the streets, like what would I say? Like dogs? We are not like dogs. Dogs are [treated] better than us,” he said.
“We have no homes. We are on the streets,” he added.
Heavy Israeli strikes also targeted Jabalia in northern Gaza, forcing people there to flee, too.
Mohammed Abu Warda told Al Jazeera that he had fled Jabalia and was heading towards the western side of Gaza City, but that he did not know exactly where to go.
“We left our area because the situation there was very dangerous,” Abu Warda said.
“Hopefully I can find a place to set up a tent… Everything here is useless, and everywhere is unsafe. The Israelis attack every single place.”
Israeli forces have carried out a sustained bombardment on Gaza City since early August as part of a deepening push to seize the city and displace about one million Palestinians living there.
On Friday, the Israeli military said it had begun the “initial stages” of its offensive, declaring the largest urban centre in the territory a “combat zone”.
The head of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Mirjana Spoljaric Egger, condemned Israel’s offensive, saying its order for trapped civilians to evacuate saying