Shillong, October 29: In the beleaguered Gaza Strip, a troubling escalation in civil unrest is being witnessed.
As per IANS, thousands of desperate individuals stormed UN warehouses, searching for food and relief, all while enduring a relentless onslaught of Israeli airstrikes and the expansion of a ground offensive into the fourth week of the ongoing war.
Thomas White, the director of the UN’s agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), reported the overnight looting of vital supplies, such as wheat, flour, and hygiene resources, from various UN-operated centers within this tightly besieged region, home to more than 2 million besieged residents.
White voiced his deep concerns, stating, “This is a distressing indication that civil order is deteriorating after three weeks of conflict and a stringent blockade. The communities’ needs are enormous, focused on basic survival, while the aid we receive remains insufficient and irregular.”
After three weeks of an almost complete blockade, essential services in Gaza have disintegrated, rendering the population susceptible to severe disease outbreaks, as sewage floods the streets and essential resources like food, water, and medicine grow increasingly scarce.
On Friday night, Israel substantially intensified its already devastating aerial campaign in the coastal enclave, resulting in a reported death toll of over 8,000 people, according to the Hamas-run health ministry. Beneath the cover of airstrikes and artillery, Israeli ground forces have commenced an incursion into the northern areas of the strip, specifically Beit Lahia and Beit Hanoun, which Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has described as the “second stage of war.”
This escalation followed Hamas’ actions in southern Israel on October 7, when they killed 1,400 people and kidnapped 230 hostages.
The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) stated that over the past 24 hours, they have targeted 450 sites linked to Hamas, the Palestinian militant group that seized control of Gaza in 2007. These targets include command centers, observation posts, anti-tank guided missile launch positions, and 150 underground targets in the north of the territory.
Reports of ground battles have also emerged in the east of the Bureij refugee camp and the city of Khan Younis in central Gaza, areas previously used as approach routes for Israeli incursions.