Israeli airstrikes in southern Gaza, invasion in central Gaza, carpet bombing in north – Day 218

Al Jazeera’s Hind Khoudary reports from Deir Al Balah: It’s been six days since Israel has allowed aid trucks into Gaza. Famine is spreading and food supplies are only expected to last for a few days.

The effects of the fuel shortage are also being acutely felt at hospitals, which the UN has warned will be unable to function unless Israel allows fuel into Gaza.

At Al-Aqsa Hospital, one of the last functioning hospitals in Gaza and the only healthcare facility in the central city of Deir el-Balah, fuel is running low, and people are at risk of dying.

One hospital worker told us that there is intensive care, a nursery with 24 incubators for newborns, and those are at risk of dying if the power goes out.

UPDATE: As of Sunday morning, Al-Aqsa Hospital is the only hospital operating and responsible for providing medical treatment for the population. They are facing problems in terms of shortages of fuel, medical equipment and necessities.

8,000 liters (2,113 gallons) of fuel have arrived at Al-Aqsa Hospital, which will be barely enough for two days of operations.

Israeli forces used children as human shields, says rights group

Middle East Eye reports: Defense for Children International (DCI) says it has heard testimonies of three children who described how they were used as human shields by Israeli forces in the West Bank during a recent assault on Tulkarm refugee camp on 5 May.

According to Geneva-based DCI, the children said Israeli soldiers forced them to walk ahead of them as they searched the camp, describing two instances of soldiers placing their rifles on their shoulders.

A 13-year-old recounted how Israeli forces stormed his family’s apartment on 6 May and then forced him to lead them through the apartment block as they searched it. He said the soldiers placed a rifle on his shoulders and fired two shots towards an apartment door.

Another child described how, during a raid on his home, he was forcibly separated from his family and then told to knock on doors in the apartment building, asking residents to leave.

“When we reached the door of one of the apartments and found it empty, the soldiers blew up the door and forced me to enter alone to inspect it,” he said.

Gaza civil defense says unable to reach Jabalia camp due to intense Israeli fire

Andalou Agency reports: As Israel’s military has returned to the devastated Jabalia refugee camp and Gaza City in northern Gaza, civil defense has said its teams are unable to access the areas where people need rescue services.

“The direct and deliberate Israeli targeting of civil defense crews prevents us from reaching some of the targeted places in the Al-Zaytoun neighborhood in Gaza City,” spokesman Mahmoud Basal said, including 16 members of a family who were trapped under the rubble of a house.

“The Israeli army is targeting innocent civilians in the neighborhoods of Gaza and the northern Gaza Strip, most of whom are women and children,” he added.

Even rescue workers are not spared in the bombing, he said.

“All the hospitals in the northern Gaza Strip are out of service,” he added.

Infrastructure damage another factor hampering humanitarian aid: UN

OCHA reports: Many humanitarian missions to the Gaza Strip are regularly denied or delayed by Israeli authorities, but the destruction inside the enclave also presents significant challenges to humanitarian movements.

“Routes that remain available for use by humanitarian organizations are frequently blocked by debris, heavily congested, and contaminated with unexploded ordnance,” according to the UN’s Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

Some 2.3 million tonnes (2.5 million tons) of debris – from the total 37.5 million tonnes (41.3 million tons) across Gaza – is attributed to damaged roads, with the UN Mine Action Service reporting a “considerable” amount contains undetonated bombs.

At least 10 percent of fired ammunition potentially fails to function, leading to 1,000-pound (450kg) bombs being left at major intersections and within school premises.

Debris also is estimated to contain about 800,000 tonnes 882,000 tons) of asbestos and other contaminants, OCHA reports.

“There is no water network, there is no infrastructure, sewage, sanitation.”@UNRWA director of planning Sam Rose explains to @BBCNews the terrible conditions displaced people face after being forced to flee yet again – as both north & south #Gaza receive new evacuation orders. pic.twitter.com/pthWgVaPut

— UNRWA (@UNRWA) May 12, 2024

These photos are from today. Families and children, returning to @UNRWA schools in Khan Younis to seek "safety" and "shelter".

The classrooms are torched. Walls are blown out. There is rubble everywhere.

This situation is unfolding under the world's watch. Enough is enough. pic.twitter.com/xJC2k25AXn

— UNRWA (@UNRWA) May 11, 2024