Jerusalem- Israel’s widening air and ground offensive in southern Gaza has displaced tens of thousands more Palestinians and worsened the territory’s dire humanitarian conditions, with the fighting preventing distribution of food, water and medicine outside a tiny sliver of southern Gaza and new military evacuation orders squeezing people into ever-smaller areas of the south.
The United Nations said 1.87 million people — more than 80 per cent of Gaza’s population — have been driven from their homes since the start of the Israel-Hamas war, triggered by the deadly October 7 Hamas assault on southern Israel.
The UN also says that all telecom services have been shut down due to cuts in the main fibre routes.
On Tuesday, Israel’s military entered Khan Younis, Gaza’s second-largest city, in its pursuit to wipe out the territory’s Hamas rulers.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the military must retain open-ended security control over the Gaza Strip long after the war ends.
Around 1,200 people have died on the Israeli side, mainly civilians, killed during Hamas’ October 7 attack.
The Health Ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said the death toll in the territory has surpassed 16,200, with more than 42,000 wounded.
UN Human Rights chief urges immediate cease-fire
The UN human rights chief is demanding that the international community immediately push “with one voice” for a cease-fire in Gaza as the plight of civilians deepens.
“Palestinians in Gaza are living in utter, deepening horror,” UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said at a news conference in Geneva. “As an immediate step, I call for an urgent cessation of hostilities and the release of all hostages.”
He added: “The international community needs to insist with one voice on a cease-fire, immediately, on human rights and humanitarian grounds.”
Türk said that, as more information emerges on allegations of sexual violence by members of Hamas and other Palestinian groups in their attack on Israel in October, “it is painfully clear that these attacks need to be fully investigated to ensure justice for the victims.”
While investigators are trying to determine the scope of the sexual assaults, Israel’s government is accusing the international community, particularly the UN, of ignoring the pain of Israeli victims.
Türk said he asked Israeli authorities in October for permission to deploy a team to investigate the attacks on Israelis, and has repeated the request, but hasn’t received a response.
“We need to ensure that justice is served, because that’s what we owe the victims,” he said.
Türk also expressed “grave concern regarding dehumanizing and inciteful statements made by current and former high-level Israeli officials, as well as Hamas figures,” without citing specific comments or people. “History has shown us where this kind of language can lead,” he said.
“This is not just unacceptable, but a competent court may view such statements, in the circumstances in which they were made, as incitement to atrocity crimes.”
Gaza’s health ministry says war death toll is more than 16,200
The Health Ministry in Hamas-run Gaza says 16,248 Palestinians have been killed and more than 42,000 wounded since the Israel-Hamas war broke out two months ago.
The ministry said Tuesday evening that the death toll included more than 6,000 children and more than 4,000 women. The ministry does not differentiate between civilians and combatants.
The figures show a sharp rise in deaths since a weeklong truce between Israel and Hamas collapsed on December 1. Since the resumption of fighting Friday, more than 1,000 Palestinians were killed, according to the Health Ministry.
The United States had urged Israel to do more to protect Palestinian civilians as its blistering air and ground campaign shifted to southern Gaza, particularly in and around Khan Younis, the territory’s second largest city. (AP)
