As the death toll from the worsening Israel-Palestine conflict rises, a dozen UN agencies have urged once more for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire to allow more life-saving aid into Gaza.
UN relief chief Martin Griffiths reiterated previous calls for the immediate and unconditional release of the more than 240 hostages taken by Hamas and detained in Gaza since October 7th, among those unifying behind the slogan “enough is enough.”
Amid media reports of massive explosions from airstrikes across northern Gaza overnight, the UN today insisted that all parties should respect their obligations under international humanitarian and human rights law.
“Civilians and the infrastructure they rely on – including hospitals, shelters, and schools – must be protected”, they said.
The humanitarian leaders referred to the mass killings of civilians in Gaza as an “outrage” in a joint statement.
The fact that the 2.2 million people living in the Strip are still deprived of fuel, electricity, food, and water remains very concerning.
The humanitarian officials stressed that “an entire population is besieged and under attack, denied access to the essentials for survival, bombed in their homes, shelters, hospitals, and places of worship.”
The World Health Organization reports that as of November 4, there had been over 100 attacks on healthcare facilities that had resulted in the deaths or injuries of nearly 1.000 people.
Over 23,000 people have been injured in Gaza since October 7 and need medical attention, even though 14 of the 35 hospitals there have closed.
The already precarious health situation in Gaza has gotten worse due to the widespread displacement brought on by the Israeli Defense Forces’ order on October 13 for Gazans to evacuate Gaza City and the northern part of the enclave.
Out of the 1.5 million internally displaced people in the Strip, over 700,000 are taking refuge in the extremely overcrowded 149 UN Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) facilities.