Israeli occupation forces intensified their assault on northern Gaza late Wednesday, forcing hundreds of civilians to flee south along the coastal Al-Rashid Street. Despite Israel’s claim that it would open “safe corridor” for 48 hours, heavy bombardment made the eastern evacuation route, Salah Al-Din Street, impassable.
“We wanted to use the eastern road to save time,” truck driver Fadl Zaloum told Al Manassa. “But shelling rained down everywhere along the so-called safe corridor. We had no choice but to take the western route, packed with broken-down cars and terrified families on foot.”
Driver Abed Serdah also spoke to Al Manassa, describing a harrowing seven-hour journey that should have taken less than one. “The army claimed it opened another road, but it’s all bombardment and explosions. How can we gamble with our lives and the lives of others while escaping death?”
Meanwhile, Israeli forces unleashed new massacres in Gaza City. A drone strike hit the southern entrance to Al-Shifa Hospital, killing 13 civilians, among them photojournalist Mohammed Al-Sawalhi of Al-Quds Al-Youm channel, who was walking near his workplace.
According to Gaza’s Media Office, Al-Sawalhi’s death brings the toll of journalists killed by Israel since the genocide began to 252, either directly targeted or killed while reporting.
Warplanes also pounded Al-Shati refugee camp, Al-Jalaa Street, Tel Al-Hawa, and Al-Daraj neighborhood. A medical source at the Gaza Health Ministry told Al Manassa that around 80 bodies and dozens of wounded were delivered to hospitals.
One journalist at the scene told Al Manassa that three adjacent homes in Al-Shati were obliterated, killing more than 12 people. Another strike on Al-Jalaa Street killed an elderly man and left more than 10 missing under the rubble. “Ambulance crews risked their lives to reach the site,” the journalist added. “Tanks were less than a kilometer away, firing nonstop. Rescuers couldn’t retrieve the rest of the bodies.”
Another witness told Al Manassa that Israeli military vehicles pushed through Al-Saftawi into Al-Jalaa Street, demolishing homes and shelling heavily, forcing families to scatter under fire.
Still, some refuse to leave. “We lived in tents for over a year, stripped of dignity. Death is easier than displacement again,” Rami Nour Al-Haq, 47, told Al Manassa.
Arafat Hammouda, 56, told Al Manassa he intends to stay in western Gaza City. “Gaza is vast. The occupation will need time to invade it fully. I have food supplies. I am not leaving.”
Ongoing genocide toll
On Aug. 8, 2025, Israel’s security cabinet approved a plan by Netanyahu to establish “full military control” over Gaza City. At the time, the army claimed it would provide temporary shelter materials to move Palestinians from combat zones to the south “for their safety.”
Since Oct. 7, 2023, Israel’s offensive on Gaza has killed nearly 65,000 Palestinians and injured more than 164,000 others, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.
The occupation has adopted a policy of starvation by blocking the entry of aid, leading to the deaths of 413 people, including 143 children, from starvation.
According to a recent study conducted by biochemist Dr. Gideon Polya, and sociologist Dr. Richard Hil, the total death toll of Israel's genocide in Gaza, through direct fire or indirectly through imposed deprivation, is likely close to 680,000 killed.
On Tuesday, an independent UN inquiry released its report, concluding for the first time that Israel has committed genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.
The UN Human Rights Council’s commission detailed that since the conflict escalated on Oct. 7, 2023, Israel has carried out four of the five genocidal acts defined under international law: killing Palestinians, causing serious harm, deliberately inflicting destructive living conditions, and preventing births. “The Commission concludes that Israeli President Isaac Herzog, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and then Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, have incited the commission of genocide,” the report asserted.
