TEHRAN- Israel has stepped up attacks in the Gaza Strip more than 450 days after initiating its war of genocide against the besieged Palestinian territory. 

According to Gaza’s Government Media Office on Friday, Israeli airstrikes across the Palestinian enclave killed more than 70 people over the previous 24 hours. 

In a statement, the media office added that the Israeli army carried out deadly strikes in areas, including in the so-called humanitarian zone of al-Mawasi in Khan Younis and the Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza. 

“The Israeli airstrikes targeted civilians and infrastructure in horrific crimes added to the occupation’s dark record,” the statement said. 

Israel has devastated Jabalia since launching a new offensive in northern Gaza in early October 2024. 

Israeli media says the Jabalia refugee camp has been left a “ghost town” with no buildings left intact.

The daily newspaper Maariv reported that the camp is now only home to stray dogs.

Israel’s renewed assault on northern Gaza is aimed at forcibly expelling Palestinians from the area to pave the way for settlers to move in. 

Israel’s war on Gaza which began on October 7, 2023, has so far claimed the lives of more than 45,600 Palestinians. 

Israel’s deadly attacks in the New Year have continued unabated. In addition, the humanitarian situation in Gaza has drastically deteriorated amid harsh weather and winter storms as heavy rains have flooded tents sheltering displaced families across the enclave.

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) has raised the alarm about the impact of freezing temperatures and heavy rainfall on displaced Palestinians in Gaza.

“Vulnerable people, including at least seven infants, have died from hypothermia, and these tragic deaths underscore the urgent need for shelter and other help to get to the people of Gaza immediately,” said IOM Director-General Amy Pope, according to Al Jazeera. 

The IOM said, “At least 945,000 [Palestinians] still urgently need winterization assistance such as thermal clothing, blankets, and tarps to seal off shelters from the rain and cold,” citing estimates made by the Shelter Cluster – a group of UN, international and local humanitarian organizations – since the middle of last month. 

Recently, Israel has also intensified airstrikes on hospitals in Gaza and stormed them. 

Israel claims Hamas uses hospitals as its command centers without providing any evidence to back up its claim.

Israel further claims that it has dealt heavy blows to resistance fighters, particularly in northern Gaza. 

Nonetheless, a report by two US-based defense think tanks monitoring the war in Gaza has contradicted Israel's assertion.

The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) and the Critical Threats Project (CTP) said Palestinian fighters in Jabalia launched a large “multi-wave” attack against Israeli troops on Monday. 

They said the attack involved units of between six and 30 Palestinian fighters. They described the raid as “noteworthy” and said it was significantly larger than most operations in the Gaza Strip in recent months. 

The report indicates that Israel’s military campaign in Gaza has failed to bring the Palestinian resistance to its knees. 

For now, Israel may have turned Jabalia into a “ghost town”, but fears of rising Palestinian resistance will continue to haunt the regime’s army for good.