North Gaza
18 October, 2024
Day 14 of Israel's third ground invasion of the North Gaza governorate. As of the evening of this day, 450 people were killed over a period of two weeks.
This day was marked by a **dangerous, dramatic escalation of violent bombings** and expanding incursion into other areas in Jabalia, **notably Tal al-Zaatar**, where two "firebelt" airstrikes were carried out on residential blocks, leading to mass murder of civilians.
In the evening, Israel imposed a **communications blackout** in the governorate while it **rapidly escalated the frequency and intensity of strikes** by drones, air strikes, artillery, and explosive barrels against a terrorized population struggling to survive after two weeks of total siege and engineered starvation and dehydration by Israel.
### Key updates from journalists:
1. Journalist Islam Badr [reported](https://x.com/islambader_1988/status/1847286630052168135) an escalation of the Israeli assault in North Gaza. Noting:
- the IDF's Givati Brigade was called in as reinforcement
- assaults expanded to Tal al-Zaatar
- intense artillery shelling on all areas of Jabalia
2. Journalist Al-Hakeem (@Hakeam_ps on X) shared details on the [extent](https://x.com/Hakeam_ps/status/1847382552224682056) of the Israeli escalation in Jabalia intensified:
- **Encircled by Israeli fire**
- West: Firebelts in Al-Faluja and the Six Martyrs intersection
- East: Firebelts in Tal al-Zaatar and al-Sikka areas
- North and South: Tanks surround the camp and shoot at everything that moves
- **Displacement**: people crowd into ever-narrowing spaces to escape the bombardment, with pressure increasing in areas like Beit Lahia
- **Little sustenance**: Food and water are running out as a result of the 15-day blockade, forcing residents to rely on unclean water
- **Emergency situations**: Many families are under the rubble, with ambulance teams unable to reach them as the IDF targets them. To make matters worse, the communications **blackout prevents contact with emergency services** altogether.
3. Journalist Hossam Shabat described the growing escalation since the evening as a ["rapid extermination mission"](https://x.com/HossamShabat/status/1847357766983438766)
---
List of Israeli attacks during the day harming civilians and other key events:
### Midday
- Strike on a **group of civilians** in Muqat Street in the Zarqa area in Jabalia Al-Balad. **One person killed**, Muhammad Saleem Muqat, and others [injured](https://x.com/Hamzaalnamla1/status/1847236891134861821)
- Strike on the [Zineddin family house](https://x.com/Hamzaalnamla1/status/1847233129339085039) near the Nassar roundabout in Jabalia camp. One woman killed: Layla Zaher Hani Zineddin
- Strike on a [group of civilians](https://x.com/Hamzaalnamla1/status/1847227359478378663) in Al-Fakhoura, **killing 3 people**
### Afternoon
- Airstrikes on a **residential block in Tal al-Zaatar** resulting in a massive [death toll](https://x.com/F24online/status/1847383877276619252) of **30 killed, including 20 women and children**.
- Quadcopters **open fire** in the vicinity of **Kamal Adwan Hospital**
- intense [strikes](https://x.com/AnasAlSharif0/status/1847317756217045198) in Sheikh Zayed, Tal al-Zaatar and Al-Alami areas in Jabalia
### Evening
- Communications [blackout](https://x.com/AnasAlSharif0/status/1847266574542975252) in North Gaza
- IDF [bulldozes an inhabited house](https://x.com/AnasAlSharif0/status/1847294637247017012) where 15 members of the Hassouna family were sheltering. The house belonged to the Wasshah family. Contact was lost with the family since.
- IDF vehicles begin [besieging Tal al-Zaatar](https://x.com/AHM3D_HAMDAN/status/1847315798248849664)
- Drones open [fire on the courtyard](https://x.com/Hamzaalnamla1/status/1847338124697076060) of Kamal Adwan hospital
### Night
- Hospitals forced to [triage](https://x.com/Hamzaalnamla1/status/1847338124697076060) as massacres continue unabated while the hospitals are further overwhelmed with casualties
- **Airstrike** on **another residential block** at the Nassar junction in the **Tal al-Zaatar** where the houses of the Al-Hawajiri, Abu Al-Aysh, and Nassar families were destroyed **killing 33 people**
### Midnight
- The Israeli assault was growing more violent and relentless by night throughout dawn.
- Journalist Mohamed Qriqea [commented](https://x.com/Mohamed_qraiqea/status/1847418704428224880): "*Those besieged in Jabalia now, their eyes are turned towards the sky, shivering with cold, starving, and threatened with death by shelling, bombing, and sniping. Oh God, have mercy on them and their situation.*"
- **Artillery shelling** of the upper floor of **Al-Awda hospital**, three times. Casualties among [healthcare workers](https://x.com/abdallahatar/status/1847451625264181255)
- Moments later, IDF forces **besieged** the **Indonesian hospital** and [opened fire on it](https://x.com/ImadZakout/status/1847475944048447720)