Israel has created 'apocalyptic’ conditions in northern Gaza, UN warns
The leaders of 15 United Nations (UN) agencies and humanitarian organisations have warned "the situation unfolding in northern Gaza is apocalyptic”.
They say Israel's assault on the region has put the entire Palestinian population in the north at "imminent risk of dying from disease, famine and violence".
A monthlong siege of the north has seen Palestinians denied basic humanitarian aid and lifesaving supplies while bombardments and other attacks continue, the leaders said.
They said that in the past few days, hundreds of Palestinians have been killed - mostly women and children - and thousands have been displaced.
Hospitals have been attacked and cut off from supplies, dozens of schools serving as shelters have been bombed or forcibly evacuated, and rescue teams have been deliberately attacked and thwarted from attempts to rescue people from under the rubble of their homes, they said.
“The entire region is on the edge of a precipice,” the leaders said. “An immediate cessation of hostilities and a sustained, unconditional ceasefire are long overdue.”
They also demanded the immediate release of hostages taken by Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups during the October 7, 2023 attacks in southern Israel.
Among those signing the statement were the heads of the UN humanitarian office OCHA, World Health Organization, World Food Program, children’s agency UNICEF, the International Council of Voluntary Agencies and Oxfam.
Some 100,000 people recently displaced from northern Gaza are sheltering in schools, buildings, or makeshift sites in Gaza City, while about 75,000 people are estimated to remain in the north Gaza governorate, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said.
Meanwhile, on Friday, Israel’s air force pounded Beirut’s southern suburb of Dahiyeh, destroying dozens of buildings in several neighbourhoods.
Lebanon’s Health Ministry reported that 30 people were killed and 103 others wounded in the last 24 hours as 120 airstrikes hit various areas across the country, with most concentrated in the Nabatiyeh region and southern Lebanon.
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More than 2,890 people have been killed and 13,100 wounded since October 8, 2023, the ministry claims, when Israel and Hezbollah began trading fire across the border almost daily.
Over a year of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza has killed more than 43,000, Palestinian health officials say, without distinguishing between civilians and combatants.
The war began after Palestinian militants stormed into Israel on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people - mostly civilians - and abducting 250 others.
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