Thousands trapped in northern Gaza as Israel escalates attacks

At least 20 Palestinians were killed and dozens more were injured in Gaza's Jabaliya by Israeli airstrikes on Friday evening, as Israel continues its siege of the area. 

Israeli military strikes killed at least 61 Palestinians across the Gaza Strip on Friday. Nearly half of the fatalities, including the 20 killed at the home, occurred in Jabalia, the northern district which is the largest of Gaza's historic refugee camps.

The Israeli military says it has killed dozens of militants in Jabalia, though it remains unclear how many of the dead were civilians rather than fighters.

"Nobody is allowed to get in or out; anyone who tries is getting shot," Doctors Without Borders (MSF) project coordinator Sarah Vuylsteke said on X.

Five MSF staff were trapped in Jabalia, she said.

"I don't know what to do; at any moment we could die. People are starving. I am afraid to stay, and I am also afraid to leave," she quoted Haydar, an MSF driver, as saying.

At least 15 of the fatalities in Jabalia since dawn were due to Israeli strikes targeting various areas, including a school sheltering displaced individuals, the official Palestinian news agency Wafa said, citing medical sources.

Gaza's Civil Defence said dozens were wounded by Israeli quadcopter drone fire at the same school.

There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military, which has previously said Gaza’s militants use such shelters for cover. Hamas has denied this.

The Israeli military has sent troops into the nearby towns of Beit Hanoun and Beit Lahiya as well as Jabalia. Hamas has said it will keep fighting Israeli forces.

Palestinian health officials have reported at least 130 deaths in the operation so far, while the military has told residents to evacuate areas where the UN estimates over 400,000 people are trapped.

United Nations officials expressed concern that the ongoing Israeli offensive and evacuation orders in northern Gaza could disrupt the second phase of its polio vaccination campaign set to begin next week.

Healthcare officials have reported that dozens of facilities in Gaza are under evacuation orders from the Israeli military, complicating humanitarian efforts amid the conflict.

Aid groups carried out an initial round of vaccinations last month after a baby was partially paralyzed by the type 2 poliovirus in August, the first such case in the territory in 25 years.