UN humanitarian chief warns ‘entire population of northern Gaza is at risk of death’

As the Israeli offensive on the northern Gaza Strip, aimed at emptying the region of its population, entered its fourth week, a UN official warned on Sunday that “the entire population of the northern Gaza Strip is at risk of death.”

A Palestinian kisses a relative killed in Israeli airstrikes at a morgue in the town of Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip, Friday, October 25, 2024. (AP Photo/File)

In a statement on Sunday, Joyce Msuya, acting under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief coordinator, accused Israeli forces of “disregard for basic humanity and the laws of war.”

Hospitals were damaged and medical workers were detained. The shelters were emptied and burned. First responders were unable to rescue people from the rubble. Families are separated and men and boys are taken away by the truckload. Hundreds of Palestinians were reported to have been killed. Tens of thousands were forced to flee again.

What Msuya described is the implementation of the so-called “master plan” adopted by the Netanyahu government to completely liberate northern Gaza from its population, be it through bombing, starvation or mass executions. Over the past three weeks, around 1,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces and countless more have died from hunger and rampant disease, according to official figures.

“For 22 days, not a drop of water or bread has reached the northern Gaza Strip,” said Mahmoud Basal, spokesman for the General Directorate of Civil Defense in the Gaza Strip.

He said that more than 100,000 Palestinians in the areas of Jabaliya, Beit Hanoun and Beit Lahiya are under Israeli siege and bombing and that the Israeli occupation is killing anyone who tries to provide services to the population of the northern Gaza Strip.

In a separate statement, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed shock at the “horrific levels of death, injury and destruction” in the northern Gaza Strip.

Guterres warned: “In the last few weeks alone, hundreds of people have been killed… and more than 60,000 people have been forced to flee again, with many fearing they will not be able to return.” He explained that “the widespread destruction and deprivation resulting from Israeli military operations in northern Gaza, especially around Jabaliya, Beit Lahiya and Beit Hanoun, make the living conditions of the Palestinian population there intolerable.”

Israeli forces killed at least 53 people in the Gaza Strip on Sunday. The bombing of a residential area in the city of Beit Lahiya killed more than 45 refugees seeking refuge there.

People watch a mosque destroyed by Israeli airstrikes in the town of Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip, Friday, October 25, 2024. (AP Photo/File)

An Al Jazeera The report describes the scene: “More than 30 displaced Palestinians are trapped under the rubble, but there are no civil defense forces to rescue them as the Israeli army forces them to evacuate to Gaza City.”

Among those killed on Sunday were two journalists, bringing the total number of journalists killed since the genocide began to 182. “The deliberate killing of a journalist is a war crime,” commented Irene Khan, the UN special rapporteur on freedom of opinion and expression. , in X’s post on Sunday.

With chronic shortages of food and basic necessities, more than two million displaced Palestinians face further destitution.

The Palestinian news agency Wafa reported that the refugees’ “makeshift shelters” were now worn out, vulnerable and in danger of collapsing under the weight of the looming rains.

“Since our home was destroyed, we did not find a place to call home,” refugee Mohammad Al-Jarusha told Wafa. “We fled to Rafah in southern Gaza, hoping that this tent would shelter us. However, it has worn out from constant use. However, there is no alternative.”

He continued: “The tents can’t handle more than that; every night the winds threaten our fragile shelter, and the blockade stops all help that could alleviate our suffering.”

He added: “Last winter was brutal; heavy rains completely flooded our tents and we experienced some of the hardest days of our lives. The cold was intense and made us shiver. We had no electricity, no heat, no hope.”

Volunteer doctor Samar Mahmoud told Wafa: “Rainwater flooded the tents, making them uninhabitable, and most residents lost their belongings.”

According to a recent UN report, more than 1.8 million people in the Gaza Strip are experiencing acute food insecurity, while 133,000 people face chronic food insecurity. “Acute malnutrition is 10 times higher than before the war,” the UN said in a statement.

The escalation of genocide in the Gaza Strip comes amid an expanding Israeli offensive across the region. In Lebanon, continuous Israeli bombing has killed more than 21 people, including three doctors.

On Friday evening, Israel carried out its largest strike on Iran to date, involving about 100 fighter jets, including advanced F-35 fighter jets provided by the United States.

Wall Street Journal The attack reportedly targeted air defense batteries in Syria and Iraq, as well as military installations throughout Iran. The attack was fully coordinated with the United States, and US officials were briefed in detail and approved the strikes in advance.