On the night of October 24 (Thursday), Israeli air strikes killed and wounded more than 150 people in Jabalia, northern Gaza.
The news was picked up by multiple media outlets as people on the ground pleaded for help.
“A horrific massacre is unfolding in Jabalia, with over 150 martyrs and wounded people due to Israeli shelling. No one is moving to rescue them,” the Gaza civil defence office said in a statement.
“The (Israeli) occupation forces bombed an entire residential block in the area, and citizens are calling for help to transport the wounded even now.”
For the past 20 days, the Israeli military had laid a siege around Jabalia.
While the footage and pictures of the aftermath of such a deadly attack, which Palestinians have dubbed another “massacre”, usually go viral within a few hours, these were missing after the Thursday night attack.
This is because the Israeli military has arrested Palestinian social media influencers who have been risking their lives to record and tell the world what’s happening on the ground.
Some of the activists who have been arrested by the Israeli military include Abood Battah, Ali Battah, Abdulrahman Obaid and Idrees Abu Safiya, says Palestinian activist Hamza Al Masry.
They were all active in and around Kamal Adwan Hospital, the main target of the Israeli military.
Poor internet connectivity and damage to communication infrastructure are also contributing to the information blackout.
Israeli forces have killed almost 180 journalists in occupied Gaza since October 7, 2023. They have also shut down media outlets and blocked international journalists from entering Gaza to report independently.
This has made Palestinian social media influencers and ordinary citizens the main source of information. Israel regularly tries to downplay the civilian death toll of its attacks.
Israeli forces have intensified their attacks on Jabalia, tightly besieging Kamal Adwan Hospital, where doctors have been requesting urgent medical supplies to save the lives of the wounded and patients for several weeks.
Israel sent military enforcement early Friday and bombed the ‘oxygen station’ at the hospital, causing the deaths of several children,’ according to a post by Palestinian journalist Anas Al-Sharif on the social media platform X.
Anas also posted, “At this moment, the occupying forces are carrying out horrific massacres in Beit Lahia, Beit Hanoun, Jabalia Camp, and Jabalia town. Dozens of martyrs lie in the streets, and residents are trapped in their homes under sniper fire and artillery shells, while ambulance crews are unable to reach them due to ongoing targeting.”
The director of the hospital said in an interview with Al Jazeera Arabic that the Israeli army is targeting the last operational hospital in the area warning that wounded people will die within a few hours due to Israeli siege and attacks.
Later, Palestinian activist Hamza Al Masry posted on his popular Telegram channel that 25 people were killed and many others were wounded in Israeli shelling on two homes in Beit Lahia in northern Gaza, stating that the shelling is continuous.
The influencer in crisis
Abood Battah, one of the most popular young Palestinian influencers, was among those arrested by the Israeli military at the hospital.
In his last online post, Battah said, “A huge massacre is happening in Jabalia now, with more than 200 people stranded under the rubble after the targeting of a residential block. There is no civil defence or ambulances to rescue them, nor is there any media coverage.”
He added, “Oh God, have mercy on us in this catastrophic situation.”
Battah and other influencers have helped expose Israeli atrocities.
In southern Gaza, Israel bombed the home of the locally popular Palestinian journalist Hasan Islaih during the army’s offensive in Manara town in Khan Younis.
