8,00,000 Gazans go homeless

NT Bureau, Agencies

Deir Al-Balah (Gaza Strip): Israeli troops battled Hamas militants and attacked underground compounds on Tuesday with a focus on northern Gaza, from which an estimated 800,000 Palestinians have fled south despite continued Israeli bombardment across the besieged enclave.

Gaza’s interior ministry said an Israeli air attack has hit apartment blocks in a residential area of the Jabalia refugee camp, killing and wounding hundreds.

Director of Indonesian Hospital told Al Jazeera at least 50 people were killed.

Buoyed by the first successful rescue of a captive held by Hamas, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected calls for a cease-fire and again vowed to crush Hamas' ability to govern Gaza or threaten Israel following its bloody Oct.

7 rampage, which ignited the war. More than half the territory's 2.3 million Palestinians have fled their homes, with hundreds of thousands sheltering in packed U.N.- run schools-turned-shelters or in hospitals alongside thousands of wounded patients.

Israeli strikes have hit closer to several northern hospitals in recent days, alarming medics.

The U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees, known as UNRWA, says nearly 672,000 Palestinians are sheltering in its schools and other facilities — four times their capacity.

Thousands of people broke into its aid warehouses over the weekend to take food, as supplies of basic goods have dwindled because of the Israeli siege.

There has been no central electricity in Gaza for weeks, and Israel has barred the entry of fuel needed to power emergency generators for hospitals and homes.

UNRWA head Philippe Lazzarini accused Israel of “collective punishment” of the Palestinians, and of forcing their displacement from northern Gaza to the south, where they are still not safe.

The agency, which hundreds of thousands of people in Gaza rely on for basic services even in normal times, says 64 of its staff have been killed since the start of the war, including a man killed alongside his wife and eight children in a strike late Monday.

“This is the highest number of U.N. aid workers killed in any conflict in such a short time,” a spokesperson told AP. 

Yemen’s Houthis say they launched missiles at Israel

Yemen’s Houthi rebels claim they launched a “large number” of ballistic missiles and drones towards Israel and warned of more attacks to come. Israel earlier said it destroyed an unidentified “aerial target” over the Red Sea on Tuesday morning.

“There was no threat or risk to civilians,” the Israeli military said. The incident triggered air raid sirens in the popular Red Sea tourist resort of Eilat and sent residents running for shelter.