GAZA, Oct. 22 (Xinhua) -- At least 18 people were killed on Tuesday in Israeli attacks in the northern Gaza Strip as Israel continues its military operation in the area, according to Palestinian sources.

Palestinian medics told Xinhua that three Palestinians were killed and dozens injured when an Israeli warplane targeted a shelter in Beit Hanoun in the northern Gaza Strip.

Medical sources said that 15 more were killed in two Israeli bombings in the Beit Lahia area.

Local security sources and witnesses reported that the Israeli army has destroyed a number of houses in Beit Lahia while it continues to besiege hundreds of Palestinian families in Jabalia and Beit Lahia and shell Beit Lahia with artillery and aircraft.

Bashar Murad, Executive Director of the Red Crescent Society in the Gaza Strip, told Xinhua that the injured require blood transfusions, which are not available as the Israeli army prevents citizens from reaching hospitals and donating blood, in addition to their poor health condition.

In addition, Hussam Abu Safiya, Director of Kamal Adwan Hospital, told journalists that the hospital may become a "mass grave" in the coming few hours due to the near depletion of fuel and the direct targeting of the hospital building by Israeli forces via drones and artillery.

Since early October, the Israeli army has been waging a ground military campaign in the Jabalia refugee camp, leading to hundreds of fatalities, according to official Palestinian data.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement on Tuesday that IDF troops are engaged in combat in Jabalia while enabling the "secure evacuation" of civilians from the combat zone along specified routes.

The Hamas-run government media office in Gaza said that the Israeli army has impeded the delivery of over a quarter of a million truckloads of aid and supplies since the beginning of the war. It accused Israel of perpetuating the policy of "starvation," especially in the northern Gaza Strip governorate and Jabalia in particular.

The office described the action as a "crime against humanity," noting that the Israeli army is intensifying its siege on all governorates of the Gaza Strip "in a stifling manner." Enditem

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