Most of the 40,000 people killed in Gaza are women and children, UN human rights chief says
“Most of the dead were women and children. This unimaginable situation was largely due to the Israel Defense Forces’ persistent failure to comply with the rules of war,” The High Commissioner for Human Rights said in a statement.
“Medium, about 130 people were killed every day in Gaza over the past 10 months,” Mr. Türk continued, citing estimates based on data from the enclave’s health authorities, before describing “the scale of destruction of homes, hospitals, schools and places of worship by the Israeli army [as] really shocking.”
He noted that his Office had documented serious violations of international humanitarian law by Israeli Army and Palestinian Armed Groupsincluding Hamas militants responsible for the October 7 terrorist attacks on multiple sites in southern Israel that killed some 1,200 people and took more than 250 hostage.
A water well in Khan Younis, Gaza, destroyed in the early days of the conflict has been restored with UN support.
Precious rest
Meanwhile in Gaza, a lucky few in the devastated enclave enjoyed some respite from the ongoing conflict at a restored water pumping station in Khan Younis.
“The last time I visited this well was in late April, and it was destroyed, surrounded by shrapnel. and there is a possibility of unexploded bombs,” said Louise Wateridge, a spokeswoman for the UNRWAThe United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees, which is responsible for leading the repair of the facility.
“I saw Many children not only collect drinking water for their families but also also enjoy cooling off and playing in the water, overflowing from filling larger containers…a basic joy that very few here have.”
Severe shortages of clean water across Gaza since the war began have exacerbated families’ efforts to prevent disease and malnutrition. stressed the importance of reopening facilities in the south of the city and beyond for tens of thousands of people.
It is the largest source of drinking water for families in Khan Younis and operates eight hours a day, “pumping more than 500 cubic metres of clean drinking water a day to around 100,000 displaced people,” Ms Wateridge said in an online video post showing children and adults filling plastic jugs and other children happily playing under a leaking tap.
“There is so little water throughout the Gaza Strip that many families are forced to travel long distances in sweltering temperatures,” she explained. “Others have no access to [clean water] completely, forcing them to survive on dirty water.”
There was no reduction in bombing.
Despite the “constant” bombing, the UNRWA official noted that in addition to those who came directly to the water stations, water trucks were continuously being filled to serve those who could not get there themselves.
While humanitarians welcomed the development, media reported that the Israeli military had issued new evacuation orders, affecting Al-Qarara and Al-Sathar in and around Khan Younis.
On Tuesday, communities in Makhta and Beni Suhaila, east of Khan Younis, were ordered to move to a so-called “safe zone,” according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. OCHAThe order affects essential services, including eight water and sanitation facilities, along with two primary health care centers.
Families in Gaza continue to live in schools converted into shelters.
