More families stream out of N Gaza, as Israeli tanks push deeper

Israeli forces stepped up bombardment across the Gaza Strip on Thursday and ordered more evacuations, creating a fresh wave of displacement from northern Gaza, to which Palestinians fear they will not be able to return.

Palestinian health officials said at least 10 people had been killed and several others wounded in an Israeli air strike on a school housing displaced families in Shati refugee camp in Gaza City.

As Israeli tanks advanced in Beit Lahiya, a month into a new push on northern Gaza, dozens of families streamed out. "After they displaced most or all of the people in Jabalia, now they are bombing everywhere, killing people on the roads and inside their houses to force everyone out," one displaced man told Reuters via a chat app, giving only one name, Ahmed, for fear of repercussions.

Palestinian officials say Israel is carrying out a plan of "ethnic cleansing." Residents say no aid has entered Jabalia, Beit Lahiya or Beit Hanoun since the operation began on October 5.

The Israeli military says it was forced to clear Jabalia and start clearing nearby Beit Lahiya on Wednesday in order to take on Hamas militants who it says have regrouped there.

Meanwhile, the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah continues. On Thursday, eight people were killed and 22 others injured as Israeli air strikes struck multiple areas in Lebanon, Lebanon's National News Agency reported.

In Baalbek's Harfouche area, an air strike killed a woman, while a separate Israeli drone attack near an army checkpoint in Sidon killed three people and injured three Lebanese soldiers and five UN peacekeepers with the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon.

Lebanon's Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned the strikes, describing them as "war crimes" and a "flagrant violation of international humanitarian law."

European Union High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell on Thursday condemned Israeli air strikes on Lebanon's Bekaa, Baalbek, Nasriya and areas near the Beirut airport, expressing dismay over the attacks.

"We call once again for an immediate ceasefire & symmetrical implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701," Borrell said in a statement on social media platform X.

While displacing Palestinians and Lebanese in Gaza and Lebanon, the Israeli parliament passed a law on Thursday allowing the government to expel relatives of Palestinian attackers to the Gaza Strip or other destinations, even if they hold Israeli citizenship.

The new law grants the interior minister the authority to deport family members of individuals designated by Israeli authorities as "terrorist operatives." Under the legislation, relatives can be expelled from Israel to the Gaza Strip or another location. The law permits deportation if a family member is found to have known about, supported or encouraged a planned act of terrorism, even if the act was not carried out.

For Israeli citizens, the deportation period ranges from seven to 15 years, while for residents it spans 10 to 20 years. Today, Palestinians make up about 20 percent of Israel's population. While they have citizenship, they face significant discrimination. 

Adalah, the legal center for Arab minority rights in Israel, condemned the legislation, saying it "deepens Israel's two-tiered legal system – one for Palestinians and one for Jewish Israelis." The group stated that the law constitutes collective punishment and marks "a dangerous escalation in Israel's crackdown on Palestinian rights, under the guise of counter-terrorism."

(With input from agencies)