ISTANBUL

Israel is pushing Palestinians in the northern Gaza Strip to “certain death” amid its deadly offensive and siege on the area, the Palestinian Foreign Ministry warned on Sunday.

“The occupation army is forcing residents of northern Gaza to either flee under bombardment or face killing, in what resembles a circle of certain death,” the ministry said in a statement.

"Genocide is unfolding in northern Gaza in its clearest form, in full view of the world, marked by siege, starvation, forced displacement, destruction of buildings, aerial bombardment, targeting of health centers, and mass killings,” the ministry added.

The ministry said the failure of the international community to stop this “war of extermination has emboldened Israel to continue its deadly campaign.”

The Israeli army has pressed ahead with a massive offensive, now in its 16th day, in northern Gaza amid a suffocating siege on the area.

The offensive was the latest episode in Israel’s brutal onslaught that has killed more than 42,600 people, mostly women and children, and injured 99,800 others since last year following a Hamas attack.

The Israeli onslaught has displaced almost the entire population of Gaza amid an ongoing blockade that has led to severe shortages of food, clean water, and medicine.

Israel faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its actions in Gaza.

* Writing by Ikram Kouachi