Jerusalem, Dec 6: Israel’s widening air and ground offensive in southern Gaza has displaced tens of thousands more Palestinians and worsened the territory’s dire humanitarian conditions, with the fighting preventing distribution of food, water and medicine outside a tiny sliver of southern Gaza and new military evacuation orders squeezing people into ever-smaller areas of the south. The United Nations said 1.87 million people – more than 80 per cent of Gaza’s population – have been driven from their homes since the start of the Israel-Hamas war, triggered by the deadly October 7 Hamas assault on southern Israel. The U.N. also says that all telecom services have been shut down due to cuts in the main fibre routes. On Tuesday, Israel’s military entered Khan Younis, Gaza’s second-largest city, in its pursuit to wipe out the territory’s Hamas rulers. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says the military must retain open-ended security control over the Gaza Strip long after the war ends. Around 1,200 people have died on the Israeli side, mainly civilians, killed during Hamas’ October 7 attack. The Health Ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said the death toll in the territory has surpassed 16,200, with more than 42,000 wounded. The ministry does not differentiate between civilian and combatant deaths, but said 70 per cent of the dead were women and children.
UNHRC urges
immediate cease-fire
The U.N. human rights chief is demanding that the international community immediately push “with one voice” for a cease-fire in Gaza as the plight of civilians deepens.
“Palestinians in Gaza are living in utter, deepening horror,” U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said at a news conference in Geneva. “As an immediate step, I call for an urgent cessation of hostilities and the release of all hostages.” He added: “The international community needs to insist with one voice on a cease-fire, immediately, on human rights and humanitarian grounds.” Türk said that, as more information emerges on allegations of sexual violence by members of Hamas and other Palestinian groups in their attack on Israel in October, “it is painfully clear that these attacks need to be fully investigated to ensure justice for the victims.” While investigators are trying to determine the scope of the sexual assaults, Israel’s government is accusing the international community, particularly the U.N., of ignoring the pain of Israeli victims. (AP)
