GAZA CITY, Palestine

The Israeli army is carrying out extensive attacks in the northern Gaza Strip, destroying homes and shelters, the Gaza Civil Defense said Sunday.

Spokesperson Mahmoud Bassal told Anadolu that the Israeli attacks aim to displace residents from northern Gaza and empty the area of its buildings.

He said what is happening in Jabalia represents "ethnic cleansing and the destruction of all life’s essentials" amid an escalation of Israeli bombardments on dozens of homes in Jabalia, Beit Lahia and Beit Hanoun.

“The bodies of dozens of martyrs are still under the rubble due to the intense Israeli bombardment in the northern areas, which exacerbates the humanitarian catastrophe in the region,” Bassal said.

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

It is 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 October following a cross-border attack by the Palestinian group Hamas.

The Israeli war has displaced almost the entire population of Gaza amid a 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 Rania Abu Shamala