Gaza situation 'fast becoming untenable'

JERUSALEM/GAZA:

The humanitarian situation in Gaza, already critical, is now "fast becoming untenable", UN aid chief Martin Griffiths said on Saturday.

In a statement, Griffiths pointed out that there was no power, water or fuel in Gaza, and food was running dangerously low, as he urged all countries with influence to use it to ensure respect for the rules of war, and avoid further escalation.

The actions and rhetoric by Hamas and Israel in the past few days is "extremely alarming, unacceptable," Griffiths said.

Read also: At least 1,900 Palestinians killed as Israel makes first raids into Gaza

Civilians and civilian infrastructure must be protected, he added.

Griffiths regretted that in Gaza, families had been bombed while inching their way south along congested, damaged roads, following an evacuation order by Israel that left hundreds of thousands of people scrambling for safety but with nowhere to go.

“Even wars have rules, and these rules must be upheld, at all times, and by all sides,” he said. "Civilians must be allowed to leave for safer areas. And whether they move or stay, constant care must be taken to spare them," he continued.

UN aid chief said anyone held captive must be treated humanely and all hostages must be released. "Civilians in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory are suffering from a week of utter anguish and devastation," Griffiths noted.

"I fear that the worst is yet to come. The past week has been a test for humanity," he said, adding that “humanity is failing”.

Thousands of Palestinians on Saturday fled the north of the Gaza Strip from the path of an expected Israeli ground assault. Israel pounded the area with more air strikes and said it kept two roads open to let people escape.

Palestinians search for casualties under the rubble in the aftermath of Israeli strikes, in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, October 14, 2023. PHOTO: REUTERS

Israel has vowed to annihilate the Hamas militant group that controls Gaza in retaliation for a rampage by fighters, who stormed through Israeli towns a week ago, gunning down civilians and making off with scores of hostages.

Some 1,300 people were killed in the worst attack on civilians in Israel's history. Israeli forces have since put the Hamas-run Gaza Strip, home to 2.3 million Palestinians, under a total siege and bombarded it with unprecedented air strikes.

Gaza authorities say more than 2,200 people have been killed, a quarter of them children, and nearly 10,000 wounded. Israel had given the population of the northern half of the Gaza Strip, which includes the enclave's biggest settlement Gaza City, until Saturday morning to move south.

Read: Israel calls on at least 1.1m Gazans to leave city within 24 hours

It later said it would guarantee the safety of Palestinians fleeing on two main roads until 1300 GMT.

As the deadline passed, troops were massing around the Gaza Strip. Outside Gaza, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited Israeli infantrymen and told them to be ready for "the next stage", without elaborating.

Hamas has told people not to leave and says roads are unsafe. It says dozens of people had been killed in strikes on cars and trucks carrying refugees on Friday, which Reuters could not independently verify.

Israel says Hamas is preventing people from leaving to use them as human shields, which the latter denies.

The Palestinian Red Crescent said it had received an Israeli order to evacuate the hospital by 4:00 pm, but would not do so because it had a humanitarian duty to keep providing services to the sick and wounded.

One million people, almost half of Gaza's population, have fled their homes in the past week including hundreds of thousands headed south from northern Gaza after the Israeli order, UN's Palestinian refugee agency UNRWA said.

Hamas's armed wing said nine captives including four foreigners had been killed overnight because of the Israeli air strikes. It has previously threatened to kill one hostage for every building Israel strikes without warning.

Israel's attacks on Gaza failed to halt Hamas missile strikes deep into Israeli cities. Air raid sirens wailed in central Israel on Saturday and rockets smashed into a greenhouse in Ashkelon and wounded four people at a kibbutz.

The only route out of Gaza not under Israeli control is a checkpoint with Egypt at Rafah. Egypt officially says its side is open, but traffic has been halted for days because of Israeli strikes.

The country’s security sources said the Egyptian side was being reinforced and Cairo had no intention of accepting a mass influx of refugees.

A senior US State Department official said Washington was working to open the crossing on Saturday to let some people out, and had been in touch with Palestinian-Americans who wanted to leave Gaza.

 

The US later said it had told its citizens to try to reach the crossing. Countries and aid agencies have sent supplies to Egypt but have so far been unable to bring them into Gaza.

Israel says nothing can enter through Rafah without its coordination. It adds that the evacuation order is a humanitarian gesture to protect residents from harm while it roots out Hamas fighters.

The UN says so many people cannot be safely moved inside the besieged enclave without causing a humanitarian disaster.

Lebanon's armed Hezbollah movement said it had fired at five Israeli outposts in the disputed Shebaa Farms area with guided missiles and mortar bombs.

Reuters saw missiles fired at an Israeli army post and heard shelling from Israel and gunfire.

Israel's Kan radio reported five border villages had been put under lockdown in response to a suspected incursion from Lebanon.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken called on China to use its influence to push for calm in the Middle East, provoking retaliation and fears that violence will spread.

The top US diplomat, who was visiting Saudi Arabia, had a "productive" one-hour telephone call with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said.

Palestinians search for casualties under the rubble in the aftermath of Israeli strikes, in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, October 14, 2023. PHOTO: REUTERS

"Our message was that he thinks it's in our shared interest to stop the conflict from spreading." Miller told reporters on Blinken's plane from Riyadh to Abu Dhabi. "He thought it could be useful if China could use its influence."

Wang for his part said that the United States should "play a constructive and responsible role, pushing the issue back on track for a political settlement as soon as possible", according to a readout published by the Chinese foreign ministry.

"When dealing with international hot-spot issues, major countries must adhere to objectivity and fairness, maintain calmness and restraint, and take the lead in abiding by international law," said Wang.

The Chinese foreign minister added that Beijing called for "the convening of an international peace meeting as soon as possible to promote the reaching of broad consensus".

"The fundamental outlet for the Palestinian issue lies in implementing a 'two-state solution'," said Wang.