UN experts have said that Gaza is being heavily controlled and attacked by Israel. There are worries that this could lead to more violence and harm for the people trying to escape. This could also involve other countries getting involved in the conflict.
Israel has promised to get rid of Hamas because of the very bad terrorist attacks they launched on October 7. Hamas is an extremist group that is in charge of a certain area. More than 1,400 people were killed and many were taken hostage during Hamas’ violent attack, according to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). US President Joe Biden has described it as the most terrible killing of Jewish people since the Holocaust.
Countries are trying harder to create a pathway for sending much-needed supplies into Gaza. This is because the 2. 3 million people living there are running out of important things like clean water, food, fuel, and medicine. Aid agencies say this will lead to an extremely serious humanitarian disaster that has never been seen before.
“Gaza is in a desperate situation, and it appears that people all around the world have forgotten their compassion,” said Philippe Lazzarini, who leads the UNRWA. He urgently called for essential assistance to be permitted into Gaza. We know that water is essential for life. Unfortunately, in Gaza, they are running out of water, which is causing a decline in their quality of life.
Lazzarini said that for the past eight days, Gaza has not received any water, wheat, or fuel, and the people living there are very desperate.
The Israeli Prime Minister‘s office said on Monday that there are no plans to open the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt. This is the only way people can enter Gaza that is not controlled by Israel.
The Prime Minister’s office told CNN that currently, there is no agreement to stop fighting or provide help to the people in the Gaza Strip in exchange for foreigners leaving.
Hospitals in Gaza are constantly being attacked by Israeli airstrikes. They may have to close soon because there is not enough fuel to power the generators that provide water and keep essential equipment like ventilators and incubators working, according to Marwan Jilani, the Director General of the Palestinian Red Crescent. He explained that there wouldn’t be any more fuel left by Monday or Tuesday.
Hospitals in Gaza are about to collapse. They don’t have any painkillers left and many people are getting very dehydrated because they don’t have enough drinking water. This information comes from a medical group called Medecins sans Frontieres. Many aid agencies are saying that there is a risk of running out of fuel and essential items in just a few hours, rather than days.
Around 50,000 pregnant women in Gaza, with 5,000 expecting to give birth soon, are facing a very difficult and dangerous situation. The UN Population Fund representative, Dominic Allen, warns that they are dealing with a “double nightmare. ” These women are at risk of giving birth in unclean conditions, which could lead to health problems, all while fearing the danger of bombs.
Making the situation worse is the fact that many people are leaving their homes in northern Gaza and trying to go south through the damaged streets before an Israeli attack that the IDF said would have strong strikes and important ground actions.
During just one week, more than 1 million people had to leave their homes because of a dangerous situation. Around 400,000 of these people are seeking refuge in UN schools and buildings, but there isn’t enough room to accommodate everyone who needs help.
Israel’s President Isaac Herzog said that he witnessed awful things during the Hamas attack on Israeli homes and communities. He mentioned a booklet that he found, which explains how the militant group kidnaps and tortures people.
The country that I belong to is going through a difficult time, it is hurting and suffering. My country is sad. “And we have to remove a very mean and cruel enemy, who shows no humanity, without any kindness,” he told CNN.
For more than a week, Israeli bombings have caused the deaths of at least 2,670 people in Gaza. This includes many children, as reported by the Palestinian Health Ministry. They have accused the Israeli military of purposely attacking medical personnel and their families.
More people have died in the last eight days in Gaza than during a longer conflict in 2014 between Gaza and Israel. Currently, it is believed that Hamas is keeping around 150 Israelis and people from other countries as hostages in the network of tunnels located under Gaza.
Many people, including UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, Pope Francis, and various nations and aid organizations, are urgently requesting the opening of safe routes for providing help to Gaza.
The spokesperson for the UN Human Rights Office, Ravina Shamdasani, said that a lot of diplomatic efforts are currently happening. The Secretary-General and many member states are using their influence to try and achieve their goals.
“If we can’t deliver this aid, there could be thousands of deaths,” Shamdasani said to CNN.
Israeli President Herzog said on Sunday that he was having another meeting with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to talk about creating a safe passage for humanitarian aid. However, any future plans regarding this route would require approval from the Israeli cabinet, the government led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and the new national unity emergency government.
The highest-ranking American diplomat has been traveling to Israel and nearby countries lately, having discussions with leaders from different regions.
On Sunday, Blinken said that the Rafah border crossing will be open, and mentioned that the US is collaborating with the UN, Egypt, Israel, and other parties to organize aid efforts.
China’s highest-ranking diplomat, Wang Yi, said that Israel went too far in defending itself. China’s envoy to the Middle East, Zhai Jun, plans to visit the region this week.
Help and assistance has been accumulating on the Egyptian side of the Rafah crossing, but it seems that the facility is not currently working. Egypt claims that airstrikes on the Gaza side have made the roads there unusable, and Jordan wants to be sure that aid convoys will not be attacked by Israeli warplanes.
The Israeli ambassador to the United States, Michael Herzog, said that Israel is making a place in Gaza for lots of people to stay. However, the spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General, Stéphane Dujarric, said he does not know if the UN is helping Israel make this place.
We don’t know if water is currently entering southern Gaza.
Israel’s Prime Minister Netanyahu’s office informed CNN on Sunday that water supply has been reinstated in southern Gaza. However, the director of the Water Authority in southern Gaza claimed that he was unsure if there was water available because the electricity needed to pump water was still not functioning.
Colonel Jonathan Conricus said that Israeli forces have initiated airstrikes against Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip. This action was carried out in response to the launching of rockets by Palestinian militants from Gaza into Israeli territory. Rewrite: ColonelJonathan Conricus, an official from Israel, mentioned that they have started sending water to southern Gaza by increasing its supply. However, he admitted that they are not fully aware of the exact amount of water reaching the intended areas.
A military expert says that Hamas is already failing in the second part of their plan.
As Israel fights against Hamas, it also has to deal with the risk of a bigger fight in other areas. There are tensions with Lebanon’s strong Hezbollah group, which is supported by Iran, in the north. There are also potential conflicts in Syria.
Western countries are worried about a big conflict in a specific area. The President of France advised the leader of Iran to not make the crisis in Gaza worse. The United States has been getting ready to defend itself in the Middle East, so that Iran doesn’t attack or make the fighting spread to other places near Israel.
More US attack airplanes called A-10 Warthogs arrived in the Middle East on Sunday. They joined other fighter jets that were already there, along with two US carrier strike groups that were sent to the eastern Mediterranean Sea.
In an interview with CBS Sunday, Jake Sullivan, the US National Security Adviser, said that although there is no new information suggesting any change in the level of threat from Iran, there is a possibility that the conflict could worsen.
Sullivan mentioned that the decision to open a second front in the north, along with Iran’s involvement, is a dangerous risk that they have been aware of from the beginning.
Sullivan said that the fights between Israel and Hezbollah at the border increase the chances of things getting worse. He also mentioned that there is a possibility that Iran might get involved directly, so we need to be ready for any situation.
Iran has said that if Israel keeps attacking Gaza, there will be even bigger trouble.