UN chief ‘shocked by harrowing levels of death, injury, destruction’ in north Gaza
UN chief Antonio Guterres said Sunday he was “shocked by harrowing levels of death, injury and destruction” in north Gaza, where Israeli forces are carrying out deadly strikes for several weeks.
“The plight of Palestinian civilians trapped in North Gaza is unbearable,” Guterres’s spokesman Stephane Dujarric said.
“The Secretary-General is shocked by the harrowing levels of death, injury and destruction in the north, with civilians trapped under rubble, the sick and wounded going without life-saving health care, and families lacking food and shelter.”
The spokesman said that according to Gaza’s health ministry, hundreds of people have been killed in recent weeks and more than 60,000 others were forced to flee.
“Repeated efforts to deliver humanitarian supplies essential to survive -- food, medicine and shelter – continue to be denied by the Israeli authorities, with few exceptions, putting countless lives in peril,” Dujarric said.
“In the name of humanity, the Secretary-General reiterates his calls for an immediate ceasefire, the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages, and accountability for crimes under international law.”
On Saturday, dozens of Palestinians were killed after an Israeli strike destroyed several buildings in a residential area of Beit Lahiya in besieged northern Gaza, with the Health Ministry describing it as a “horrific massacre”. According to witnesses and medical sources, at least 45 people were killed on Saturday evening with dozens more wounded.
Palestinian WAFA news agency reported that many of the killed and injured are children, women and the elderly. Rescue efforts are being hampered due to a lack of ambulances and civil defense services, as Israeli forces have blocked access to the area, it said.
Northern Gaza has been under a three-week ground assault by Israeli forces who are forcibly displacing tens of thousands of residents out of the area.