Hunger grips Gaza as truce talks continue
Published: 05:02 PM,Feb 21,2024 | EDITED : 09:02 PM,Feb 21,2024
Displaced Palestinians check their belongings in a territory named Al-Mawasi after Israeli tanks reportedly raided the sector, Khan Yunis. 1 AFP
GAZA: Heavy fighting rocked besieged Gaza on Wednesday as aid agencies warned of looming famine. Global concern has spiralled over the high civilian death toll and dire humanitarian crisis in the war sparked by October 7 attack.
Combat and chaos again stalled the sporadic aid deliveries for desperate civilians in Gaza, where the UN has warned the population of 2.4 million is on the brink of famine and could face an 'explosion' of child deaths.
The UN World Food Programme said it was forced to halt aid deliveries in north Gaza because of 'complete chaos and violence' after a truck convoy encountered gunfire.
More Israeli strikes pounded Gaza, leaving 103 people dead during the night, according to the health ministry in the territory, which put the overall death toll at 29,313.
'We can't take it anymore,' said Ahmad, a resident of Gaza City, where entire blocks are in ruins and cratered streets are strewn with rubble.
'We do not have flour, we don't even know where to go in this cold weather,' he said. 'We demand a ceasefire. We want to live.'
Particular concern has centred on Gaza's far-southern Rafah area, where 1.4 million people now live in crowded shelters and makeshift tents, fearing attack by nearby Israeli ground troops.
Aid groups warn a ground offensive could turn Rafah into a 'graveyard' and the United States has said the vast numbers of displaced civilians must first be moved out of harm's way.
US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said that 'without properly accounting for the safety and security of those refugees, we continue to believe that an operation in Rafah would be a disaster'.
Israel has heavily bombed Gaza and launched a ground attack that has seen troops and tanks push through from the north towards the south, leaving vast swathes entirely destroyed.
The World Health Organization called the devastation 'indescribable' around Nasser Hospital in the southern city of Khan Yunis, where it said it managed to evacuate some 32 patients.
'The area was surrounded by burnt and destroyed buildings, heavy layers of debris, with no stretch of intact road,' WHO said.
The clinic has no power or running water, it added, and 'medical waste and garbage are creating a breeding ground for disease'.
On Tuesday, the UN Security Council voted on an Algeria-drafted resolution which demanded an immediate humanitarian ceasefire and the release of all captives.
The United States vetoed the resolution, which it labelled 'wishful and irresponsible', drawing strong criticism from China, Russia, Saudi Arabia and even close ally France. — AFP
Combat and chaos again stalled the sporadic aid deliveries for desperate civilians in Gaza, where the UN has warned the population of 2.4 million is on the brink of famine and could face an 'explosion' of child deaths.
The UN World Food Programme said it was forced to halt aid deliveries in north Gaza because of 'complete chaos and violence' after a truck convoy encountered gunfire.
More Israeli strikes pounded Gaza, leaving 103 people dead during the night, according to the health ministry in the territory, which put the overall death toll at 29,313.
'We can't take it anymore,' said Ahmad, a resident of Gaza City, where entire blocks are in ruins and cratered streets are strewn with rubble.
'We do not have flour, we don't even know where to go in this cold weather,' he said. 'We demand a ceasefire. We want to live.'
Particular concern has centred on Gaza's far-southern Rafah area, where 1.4 million people now live in crowded shelters and makeshift tents, fearing attack by nearby Israeli ground troops.
Aid groups warn a ground offensive could turn Rafah into a 'graveyard' and the United States has said the vast numbers of displaced civilians must first be moved out of harm's way.
US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said that 'without properly accounting for the safety and security of those refugees, we continue to believe that an operation in Rafah would be a disaster'.
Israel has heavily bombed Gaza and launched a ground attack that has seen troops and tanks push through from the north towards the south, leaving vast swathes entirely destroyed.
The World Health Organization called the devastation 'indescribable' around Nasser Hospital in the southern city of Khan Yunis, where it said it managed to evacuate some 32 patients.
'The area was surrounded by burnt and destroyed buildings, heavy layers of debris, with no stretch of intact road,' WHO said.
The clinic has no power or running water, it added, and 'medical waste and garbage are creating a breeding ground for disease'.
On Tuesday, the UN Security Council voted on an Algeria-drafted resolution which demanded an immediate humanitarian ceasefire and the release of all captives.
The United States vetoed the resolution, which it labelled 'wishful and irresponsible', drawing strong criticism from China, Russia, Saudi Arabia and even close ally France. — AFP