Hyderabad/Jerusalem/Tel Aviv: The U.N.'s Palestinian refugee agency says Gaza “is being strangled” and the number of people seeking shelter at their schools and facilities in the south of the territory is overwhelming, ahead of an expected Israeli ground offensive in the war sparked by Hamas' deadly attack.
Israeli forces have positioned themselves along Gaza’s border and drilled for what Israel dubs would be a broad campaign to dismantle the militant group. A week of blistering airstrikes have demolished entire neighborhoods but failed to stem militant rocket fire into Israel.
According to the Gaza Health Ministry, 2,670 Palestinians have been killed and 9,600 wounded in the past nine days in the Israel's response, more than in the 2014 Gaza war, which lasted over six weeks, making this the deadliest of the five Gaza wars for both sides.
More than 1,400 Israelis were killed in Hamas' Oct. 7 assault, while at least 155 others, including children, were captured by Hamas and taken into Gaza, according to Israel. For Israel, it's the deadliest war since the 1973 conflict with Egypt and Syria.
“If we look at the issue of water — we all know water is life — Gaza is running out of water, and Gaza is running out of life,” said Philippe Lazzarini, the commissioner-general of UNRWA at a press conference in Jerusalem on Sunday.
“Soon, I believe, with this there will be no food or medicine either,” he said.
“Last week’s attack on Israel was horrendous,” he said. “The attack and the taking of hostages are a flagrant violation of international humanitarian law. But the answer to killing civilians cannot be to kill more civilians.”
At least 1 million people were forced to flee their homes in the previous week. At least 400,000 displaced people are crammed into UNRWA schools and buildings, and most are not equipped as emergency shelters. Conditions are unsanitary and appalling.
Most of the agency’s 13,000 staff in the Gaza Strip are now displaced or out of their homes, said Lazzarini.
“Every story coming out of Gaza is about survival, despair and loss. Thousands of people have been killed, including children and women. Gaza is now even running out of body bags. Entire families are being ripped apart.”
An Independent medical humanitarian organisation working in Gaza said it was not able to find drinking water for hours while shelling continued all day.
“Today, for the last two hours, we've been looking for drinking water. They've been shelling all day. We don't know what will happen tomorrow or where we will go,” Mohammed Abu Mughaiseeb, Dy Medical Coordinator, Médecins Sans Frontières, said.
The U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres made two strong humanitarian appeals.
He appealed Hamas to “release the hostages without conditions,” while insisting Israel to “provide rapid and unimpeded access for humanitarian aid” for the sake of the civilians in Gaza.
Gaza is running out of water, electricity and other essential supplies. The United Nations has stocks available of food, water, non-food items, medical supplies and fuel, located in Egypt, Jordan, the West Bank and Israel. These goods can be dispatched within hours. To ensure delivery, our selfless staff on the ground, along with NGO partners, need to be able to bring these supplies into and throughout Gaza safely, and without impediment to deliver to those in need, Guterres said.
Each one of these two objectives are valid in themselves. They should not become bargaining chips and they must be implemented because it is the right thing to do, a statement from his office read.
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