Israeli forces shell municipal building, heavy machinery used to remove rubble in northern Gaza
The Israeli army shelled a municipal building and heavy machinery used to remove rubble in northern Gaza on Tuesday, in the latest attack on Palestinian humanitarian infrastructure in the war-torn Palestinian territory.
“Israeli warplanes bombed the Nazlat Jabalia Municipality headquarters and the equipment inside, burning everything at the site,” a municipal employee told Anadolu on condition of anonymity.
“Israel prevented ambulance and civil defense crews from reaching the site to extinguish a fire caused by the attack, forcing them to attempt to control the raging flames using primitive and manual equipment.”
Tuesday's attack came a day after Israeli forces shelled a food delivery spot in a refugee camp in Gaza on Monday, killing five people, including two humanitarian workers, medical sources said.
Last month, the Israeli army killed 15 Palestinian emergency workers during a rescue mission in Rafah in southern Gaza.
A video showed that the victims were shot, and some of them had their hands bound and were buried in an area roughly 200 meters from where their vehicles had last been seen.
Initially, the Israeli army claimed that its forces had opened fire on vehicles that approached in a “suspicious manner” without emergency signals. It later admitted to killing the medics.
The army, however, on Sunday claimed that no evidence was found regarding the execution of the 15 Palestinian medics in Rafah.
Since March 2, Israel has closed Gaza's crossings, blocking essential supplies from entering the enclave despite multiple reports of famine in the war-devastated territory.
The Israeli army resumed its assault on Gaza on March 18, shattering a Jan. 19 ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement.
Israel has killed more than 51,200 Palestinians in the enclave since October 2023, most of them women and children.
Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants 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.
