Palestine condemns continued Israeli siege of N. Gaza

GAZA, Oct. 16 (Xinhua) — The Palestinian presidency condemned on Wednesday the Israeli army’s ongoing siege of northern Gaza, which has continued for the 11th consecutive day.
In a press release published by the Palestinian news agency WAFA, presidency spokesperson Nabil Abu Rudeineh called Israel’s siege and ongoing military operations that force residents to evacuate their homes “war crimes punishable under international law.”
“It is unacceptable to allow the continuation of Israeli aggression while the UN Security Council remains paralyzed due to U.S. policies that support Israel and its actions, which defy international will,” he said.
Abu Rudeineh stressed that these U.S. policies “have violated all prohibitions of international law and provided the criminal occupation forces with all forms of financial and military support, encouraging them to commit heinous crimes against our people and the peoples of the region.”
Witnesses told Xinhua that the Israeli army is besieging dozens of families, primarily consisting of women and children, preventing them from leaving the northern areas and putting them at risk of death.
The Israeli army has been conducting a large-scale offensive and imposing a tight siege on Jabalia and the surrounding areas since October 6, allegedly to target militants and their infrastructure in Jabalia and prevent Hamas from regrouping there.
“This operation to systematically dismantle terrorist infrastructure in the areas will continue as long as required in order to achieve its objectives,” the army said. ■