More than 1,000 people have been killed since Israel began a large-scale military incursion into northern Gaza earlier this month, Mahmoud Basal, the spokesperson for the Gaza civil defense, has said.

Basal said intense Israeli bombardment has been continuous for 22 days in Jabalya, Beit Lahiya and Beit Hanoun, among other areas, adding that Israeli forces have also prevented the civil defense and medical staff from accessing that part of the Gaza Strip.

“Those being bombed in the northern part of the strip will find no medical assistance or anyone to provide medical services,” he said. “We are thus facing a difficult and tragic situation.”

In addition to the more than 1,000 confirmed killed, many others are lying either beneath the rubble or on the streets, Basal added.

“Given the tragic and dire reality in northern Gaza, we continue to appeal to international organizations and institutions to fulfill their humanitarian and service roles to assist the citizens here in northern Gaza, who are being subjected to mass extermination and direct bombardment,” he said.

“We also call on organizations such as the Red Cross to intervene and allow civil defense and medical teams, as well as hospitals, to carry out their humanitarian duties in northern Gaza.”

“Otherwise, we are facing a serious threat to the lives of over 100,000 citizens who remain in their homes in the northern part of the strip,” Basal concluded.

(Source: CNN)