UN chief says north Gaza 'untenable' for life as Egypt proposes two-day ceasefire deal
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres called for aid to enter northern Gaza as the situation was "untenable" for Palestinian people.
In short:
Dozens of people have been killed by Israeli air strikes in northern Gaza in the last day, with local residents saying they are starving from lack of food and aid.
The UN's secretary general described life in the besieged northern Gaza Strip as "untenable" for people living there, and called for Israel to allow aid into the area.
What's next?
Egypt has proposed a two-day ceasefire deal as talks between Israel and Hamas begin in Doha.
The UN's chief has described northern Gaza's humanitarian situation as "untenable" and called for Israel to allow crucial aid into the besieged enclave.
"The devastation & deprivation resulting from Israel's military operations in North Gaza are making the conditions of life untenable for the Palestinian population there," Antonio Guterres wrote on X.
"This conflict continues to be waged with little regard for the requirements of international humanitarian law."
Israeli authorities were hampering efforts to deliver food, medicine and other essential humanitarian supplies, putting lives at risk, he said.
Israel says its forces operate in accordance with international law, and accuses Hamas of using civilians as human shields — a claim it denies.
Israel also denies blocking humanitarian aid to Gaza, blaming international organisations for problems distributing it and accusing Hamas of stealing from aid convoys.
Dozens of people were killed in northern Gaza on Sunday, where Israeli troops say they are trying to stop militant group Hamas from regrouping.
The largest of the Gaza Strip's eight historic refugee camps, Jabalia has been the focus of an Israeli military offensive for more than three weeks.
At least 20 people were killed following an Israeli air strike on a house in Jabalia, medics and Palestinian news agency WAFA said.
Another Israeli air strike on a school sheltering displaced Palestinian families in Shati camp in Gaza City, killed nine people and wounded 20 others, with many in critical condition, medics said.
Footage circulated on Palestinian media, which Reuters could not immediately verify, showed people rushing to the bomb site to help evacuate the casualties.
Bodies were scattered on the ground, while some carried wounded children in their arms before loading them in a vehicle.
The Israeli military said it was looking into the report on the strike on the school.
Three local journalists were among those killed at the school in Shati — Saed Radwan, head of digital media at Hamas Al-Aqsa television, Hanin Baroud, and Hamza Abu Selmeya, according to Hamas media.
The Committee to Protect Journalists said in a statement deliberate targeting of journalists is a war crime under international humanitarian law.
On Sunday, Israel's military said it had killed more than 40 militants in the Jabalia area in the past 24 hours, as well as dismantling infrastructure and locating large quantities of military equipment.
'Famine' unleashed on residents
Israeli military strikes on the towns of Jabalia, Beit Hanoun and Beit Lahiya in northern Gaza have so far killed around 800 people since the offensive began, the Gaza health ministry said.
Gaza civil defence agency's spokesperson, Mahmud Bassal, slammed Israel's ongoing "siege" in the areas of Jabalia, Beit Hanun and Beit Lahia in northern Gaza, saying 100,000 people were trapped.
"For 22 days, not a drop of water or bread has entered the northern Gaza Strip," Mr Bassal said in a statement.
"The occupation forces kill anyone who tries to provide services to the residents of north Gaza."
No food or aid has entered northern Gaza since early October, local residents say.
Beit Lahia resident Bilal al-Hajri, 25, said the siege was unleashing a "famine" in the area.
"We are really dying under a tight siege and famine," he told AFP.
"None of us can leave our homes to even provide some food and drink … anyone who leaves is targeted."
Egypt proposes two-day ceasefire deal
Egypt's president proposed an initial two-day ceasefire in Gaza to exchange four Israeli hostages of Hamas for some Palestinian prisoners on Sunday.
Egyptian leader Abdel Fattah al-Sisi made the announcement as efforts to defuse the war resumed in Qatar with the directors of the CIA and Israel's Mossad intelligence agency taking part.
Mr al-Sisi also said that talks should resume within 10 days of implementing the temporary ceasefire in order to reach a permanent one.
There was no immediate comment from Israel or Hamas but a Palestinian official close to the mediation effort told Reuters: "I expect Hamas would listen to the new offers, but it remains determined that any agreement must end the war and get Israeli forces out of Gaza."
Israel has said the war cannot end until Hamas has been wiped out as a military force and governing entity in Gaza.
The US, Qatar and Egypt have been spearheading negotiations to end the war that erupted after Hamas fighters stormed into southern Israel on October 7 last year, killing 1,200 people and taking more than 250 hostages, by Israeli tallies.
The death toll from Israel's retaliatory air and ground onslaught in Gaza is approaching 43,000, Gaza health officials say, with the densely populated enclave in ruins.
An official briefed on the talks told Reuters earlier on Sunday that negotiations in Doha will seek a short-term ceasefire and the release of some hostages being held by Hamas in exchange for Israel's release of Palestinian prisoners.
Multiple strikes on Lebanon kill 21
The Lebanese health ministry said that Israeli strikes on Sunday killed at least 21 people across southern Lebanon.
Nine people were killed and 38 wounded in a strike on Haret Saida, near the port city of Sidon, the ministry said. At least seven others including a nurse and three rescuers were killed in the southern village of Ain Baal and five in Burj al-Shemali.
A strike on Haret Saida, about 60 kilometres from the Israeli border, completely destroyed the top floor of a three-storey building, according to an AFP correspondent.
Nearby buildings were also damaged. The Lebanese army blocked access to the sector, which has become crowded with people fleeing other areas of south Lebanon since Israel launched its offensive against Hezbollah in September.
AFP's correspondent said that no warning to evacuate the zone was given before Israel's strike.
In Ain Baal, the dead included three emergency workers working at a centre run by the Al-Riossala Association, a charity linked to the Shiite political party Amal, which is an ally of Hezbollah.
A nurse and three other people who happened to be nearby were also killed, the health ministry said.
Israel's stated objective for its strikes and ground operations in Lebanon is to disable militant group Hezbollah from attacking, after it began launching strikes against Israel following the October 7 attacks.
At least 1,620 people have been killed by Israeli strikes in Lebanon since September 23, according to an AFP tally of health ministry figures.
Reuters/AFP
By：https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-10-28/un-chief-north-gaza-life-untenable-israel/104525252(责任编辑：admin)
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