As Israeli military strikes on the Gaza Strip continue to claim the lives of Palestinians, the ongoing nightmare has prompted a heartfelt message from the United Nations chief
Israeli strikes on Gaza killed at least 21 people overnight and into early Wednesday, more than half of them women and children, health officials said. It came amid major famine fears caused by Israel ’s blockade as a law and order breakdown in Gaza has led to widespread looting and violence near aid sites.
More than 1,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces since May while trying to get food in the Gaza Strip, it has been claimed. More than 100 human rights groups and charities signed a letter published Wednesday demanding more aid for Gaza and warning of grim conditions causing starvation. And, branding the Gaza nightmare a ‘horror show’ UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres said that a ceasefire is needed now more than ever.
Mr Guterres told the UN security council that “around the world, we see an utter disregard for – if not outright violations of – international law” as well as the UN Charter. He said “starvation is knocking on every door” as Israel denies the United Nations the space and safety to deliver aid and save Palestinian lives.
Israel denies deliberately targeting civilians and aid staff as part of its war with Hamas and blames UN agencies for failing to deliver food it has allowed in. More than 59,000 Palestinians have been killed during the Israel-Hamas war, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.
Its count doesn’t distinguish between militants and civilians, but the ministry says that more than half of the dead are women and children. The U.N. and other international organizations see it as the most reliable source of data on casualties.
Dr. Marwan al-Hams, acting director of Gaza’s field hospitals and the health ministry’s spokesman, was detained by Israeli troops earlier this week in the Palestinian territory. Alaa al-Sakafi, head of Addameer, a Palestinian rights group,said lawyers have not been allowed to see al-Hams.
His detention in a southern Israel prison was extended until the end of the month, al-Sakafi said. He said al-Hams suffered from a gunshot wound in his leg, which he sustained during his detention in Gaza’s southern city of Rafah on Monday.
Israel has not commented on al-Hams’ detention. The Israeli military said in a statement Wednesday that forces were operating in Gaza City as well as in northern Gaza.
It said without elaborating that in Jabaliya, an area hard-hit in multiple rounds of fighting, an air strike killed “a number of” Hamas militants. Troops struck roughly 120 targets throughout Gaza over the past day, including militant cells, tunnels and booby-trapped structures, among others, the military said.
One Israeli strike hit a house Tuesday in the northwestern side of Gaza City, killing at least 12 people, according to the Shifa Hospital, which received the casualties. The dead included six children and two women, according to the Health Ministry’s casualty list.
Another strike hit an apartment in the Tal al-Hawa area in northern Gaza, killing at least six people. Among the dead were three children and two women, including one who was pregnant. Eight others were wounded, the ministry said.
A third strike hit a tent in the Naser neighborhood in Gaza City late Tuesday and killed three children, Shifa Hospital said. The Israeli military blames Hamas for civilian casualties because the militants operate from populated areas.
In the letter issued Wednesday by 115 human rights and charity groups, they warned of a dire situation pushing more people toward starvation. They said they were watching their own colleagues, as well as the Palestinians they serve, “waste away.”
The letter slammed Israel for what it said were restrictions on aid into the war-ravaged territory. It lamented “massacres” at food distribution points, which have seen chaos and violence in recent weeks as desperation has risen.
“The government of Israel’s restrictions, delays, and fragmentation under its total siege have created chaos, starvation, and death,” the letter said. The letter called for aid to be scaled up as well as for a ceasefire. ` Israel says that it has allowed the entry of thousands of trucks since May and blames aid groups for not consistently delivering goods.
