‘Gaza ceasefire more urgent’ as Israeli attacks kill over 10,000 Palestinians

GAZA: United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday urged an immediate ceasefire amid the Israel-Hamas conflict in Gaza Strip, where Palestinian health authorities said the death toll from Israeli attacks now exceeded 10,000.

“The unfolding catastrophe makes the need for a humanitarian ceasefire more urgent with every passing hour,” the UN chief told journalists at the UN headquarters.

Israel has launched air and ground attacks on the Gaza Strip following a cross-border attack by Hamas on October 7.

Israel has relentlessly bombarded the besieged Gaza Strip, levelling entire city blocks and killing thousands, mostly women and children, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.

Palestinian health ministry said at least 10,022 Palestinians have since been killed, including 4,104 children. International organisations have said hospitals cannot cope with the wounded and food and clean water are running out with aid deliveries nowhere near enough.

Talking to journalists today, Antonio Guterres said that the protection of civilians “must be paramount” in the conflict between Israel and Hamas, warning that the Gaza Strip was becoming “a graveyard for children”.

Guterres further said that Israel’s aerial bombardments and ground operations in Gaza “are hitting civilians, hospitals, refugee camps, mosques, churches and UN facilities, including shelters”.

“The nightmare in Gaza is more than a humanitarian crisis; it is a crisis of humanity,” the UN chief. “Hundreds of girls and boys are reportedly being killed and injured every day,” he said.

“More journalists have reportedly been killed over a four-week period than in any conflict in at least three decades,” he said. “More United Nations aid workers have been killed than in any comparable period in the history of our organisation.”

LIVE: UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres speaks on the situation in the Middle East https://t.co/cl3bowPXYr

— Reuters (@Reuters) November 6, 2023

“I joined the UN family in mourning 89 of our UNRWA colleagues who have been killed in Gaza, many of them together with members of their family,” Guterres added.

“The protection of civilians must be paramount. I am deeply concerned about clear violations of international humanitarian law that we are witnessing. Let me be clear: No party to an armed conflict is above international humanitarian law,” he said, reiterating his call for a humanitarian ceasefire.

UN Secretary General also spoke of aid getting into Gaza.

“Some life-saving aid is getting into Gaza from Egypt through the Rafah crossing but the trickle of assistance does not meet the ocean of need. The Rafah crossing alone cannot process aid trucks at the scale required,” he said.

Just over 400 trucks have entered Gaza via the Rafah crossing with Egypt in the past two weeks.

He also called for fuel to be allowed into the bombarded enclave: “Without fuel, newborn babies in incubators and patients on life support will die.”

Death toll crosses 10,000

The death toll from the ongoing Israeli attacks in war on Gaza has exceeded 10,000 people, the Palestinian Health Ministry Monday.

Ashraf al-Qudra, spokesman for the Health Ministry, said at a news conference that the Israeli army killed 10,022 people and injured more than 25,000 others. The death toll includes 4,104 children and 2,641 women, he added.

Al-Qudra also said the Health Ministry has received reports about 2,350 people missing under the rubble, including around 1,300 children.

In the past few hours, he said, the Israeli warplanes targeted three adjacent hospitals in Gaza City, including an eye hospital, a psychiatric hospital and Al-Rantisi Children Hospital.

The Israeli targeting of the three hospitals left eight Palestinians killed and 125 others injured, according to the spokesman.

Five more UNRWA staffers killed

Five more staffers of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) have been killed in Israeli airstrikes across the Gaza Strip in the past 24 hours.

“In the last 24 hours, [five] UNRAWA colleagues were killed due to strikes in the North, Middle and South areas of the Gaza Strip,” the UN agency said on X (formerly Twitter).

🔺In the last 24 hours, 5 @UNRWA colleagues were killed due to strikes in the North, Middle and South areas of the📍#GazaStrip

🔺One @UNRWA colleague sustained serious injuries due to a strike that hit her home; her husband and three children were killedhttps://t.co/QgElNhGNxl pic.twitter.com/3kEjpIVqdu

— UNRWA (@UNRWA) November 6, 2023

According to a report issued by the UN agency, one staffer sustained serious injuries due to a strike that hit her home, wherein her husband and three children were killed.

This brings the total number of confirmed UNRWA staffers killed to 88 and at least another 25 injured since the war began, the report added.

Blinken in Middle East

United States (US) Secretary of State Antony Blinken is touring the region to try to reduce the risks of the conflict escalating, get more aid into Gaza and draw up plans for a sustainable future.

“We are working very aggressively on getting more humanitarian assistance in Gaza,” Blinken said in Turkey. “And we have very concrete ways in doing that. And I think we’ll see in the days ahead that assistance can expand in significant ways.”

France to host international conference on aid for Gaza

Meanwhile, France has announced to host international conference on aid for Gaza Strip.

France’s Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs says the summit will focus on three things:

Actions to promote compliance with international humanitarian law, the protection of civilians and humanitarian staff, and the strengthening of humanitarian access.

The international humanitarian response in the fields of health, water, energy and food.

Support for international organisations active on the ground.

The ministry also said “states, main donors, international organisations and NGOs active in Gaza” would take part in the conference although it was not immediately clear who would be in attendance.