Agencies
Gaza
The Israeli military has continued “its intensive land, air and sea aggression on northern Gaza for 60 days” that also wounded 10,000 others, Gaza’s Media Office said.
A statement by the office on Telegram said 2,400 of the 3,700 people who were killed or missing were “buried” under the rubble.
During the offensive, the Israeli forces also detained 1,750 people, the office added.
“The occupation also targeted and prevented the work of civil defence crews in the governorate, in addition to its destruction of vital sectors,” most notably the health sector and water networks, it said.
The statement said the condition of the sanitation facilities, infrastructure and road networks exacerbated the humanitarian crisis in northern Gaza, declaring the region “disaster-stricken in every sense of the word”.
The Media Office also said a decision by the UN refugee agency for Palestinians (UNRWA) to halt the delivery of much-needed aid to the hunger-stricken, besieged territory is “shocking and surprising”.
In a statement, the office blamed Israel for the “dangerous ramifications” of the move and called on UNRWA to resume the delivery of aid via other border crossings. Earlier, UNRWA said its decision to stop delivering aid via the Karem Abu Salem (Kerem Shalom to Israelis) crossing was due to security concerns.
“We urge to uphold its humanitarian responsibilities and retract the decision that is going to threaten the lives of more than two million people, especially women and children,” it said.
UNRWA has said humanitarian aid reaching Gaza for the past year of war has been “nowhere near enough” for its 2.2 million population.
“While attacks continue, people, including children, are facing hunger, living in shelters and tents, and relying on humanitarian aid,” UNRWA said on X.
According to its count, only 65 aid trucks per day had been able to enter Gaza this past month, compared with a pre-war average of 500. International aid organisations have repeatedly raised alarm over the deteriorating conditions in Gaza, warning that civilians are on the brink of famine.
They have said aid shipments reaching the enclave are now at their lowest since the start of the war.
UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini has said the agency “remains the backbone of humanitarian response” in Gaza.
In an address in Cairo, he called for the use of “a robust international legal and political framework” to ensure the continuation of humanitarian aid to Gaza.
“Without this, humanitarians, however selfless and courageous, cannot stay and deliver,” he added.
The UN agency recently announced it was stopping aid deliveries to Gaza from the key Karem Abu Salem (Kerem Shalom) crossing between Israel and Gaza due to the deteriorating security situation.
Meanwhile, the Israeli military on Monday declared another of the hostages held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip to be dead.
The hostage in question is a 21-year-old Israeli-American soldier born in New York, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) wrote on social media platform X.
He was killed during the Hamas-led October 7 attacks on Israel and his body has been held in the Gaza Strip ever since, according to the IDF, citing intelligence.
The Hostages and Missing Families Forum, a group that represents the family members of hostages still held in Gaza as well as the Israeli communities attacked on October 7, said that the soldier, a tank commander, had been abducted along with other troops that day.
Hamas and other groups crossed the border from the Gaza Strip into Israel on October 7 last year, killing around 1,200 people and abducting more than 250 others.
Israel responded by pounding Gaza with airstrikes and launching a ground offensive into the Palestinian territory. At least 44,000 people have been killed in Gaza since the war began, according to the Hamas-controlled health authority.
Many of the 100 hostages still unaccounted for are no longer believed to be alive. They include holders of dual nationality, including US citizens.
Meanwhile, the armed wing of Hamas, the Qassam Brigades, said its fighters have targeted “enemy positions” in the kibbutzim of Nirim and Ein HaShlosha in southern Israel with several rockets.At least 44,466 people have been killed and 105,358 wounded in Israeli attacks on Gaza since October 7, 2023, the enclave’s Health Ministry said, on Monday.
Of those, 37 Palestinians were killed and 108 wounded in the latest 24-hour reporting period, the ministry added. (Agencies)
