EBN- The UN expresses fears of what lies ahead for Gaza as the Israeli army pushes deeper into southern Gaza.
Lynn Hastings, UN humanitarian coordinator for the Palestinian territories said that “an even more hellish scenario” looms in Gaza in which humanitarian aid simply grinds to a halt.
“The conditions required to deliver aid to the people of Gaza do not exist,” Hastings said. “Nowhere is safe in Gaza.”
UN Secretary-General António Guterres appealed to Israel to avoid further action that would make the already dire humanitarian situation in Gaza worse. He also called on Israeli to spare civilians from more suffering.
Israeli tanks, armoured personnel carriers and bulldozers have entered the southern part of the Gaza Strip near Khan Younis, as an Israeli commander claimed the army had almost completed its mission in the north.
Israeli military vehicles were on the southern section of the main north-to-south road in Gaza, “firing bullets and tank shells at cars and people trying to move through the area”, a witness, Moaz Mohammed, told the AFP news agency.
The Israeli military issued fresh orders to Palestinians in about 20 areas of central Gaza to move farther south.
Gaza’s health ministry issued new casualty figures, saying that 15,899 Palestinians have been killed by Israel’s military action in the Gaza Strip since 7 October.
The ministry says that 70% of them are women and children. It does not distinguish in the figures between civilians and combatants.
The number of deaths is likely under-counted, as the collapse of the health system in Gaza has made it difficult for statistics to be gathered. There are more than 6,000 Palestinians considered missing within the territory.
