World Health OrganizationThe UN human rights chief said the “darkest moment” of the war in Gaza was taking place in the north of the territory, where Israel said it was launching a ground offensive to stop the fighting. Hamas soldiers gathered.
“As we speak, the Israeli army is subjecting the entire population to bombs, siege and the risk of starvation,” Volker Türk said.
He called on world leaders to act, saying countries have an obligation under the Geneva Conventions to ensure respect for international humanitarian law.
There was no immediate response from the Israeli military, but it said its troops had killed “hundreds of terrorists” and evacuated 45,000 civilians in Jabalia since returning to the area on June 6. October.
It comes as the head of the World Health Organization (WHO) said he was extremely worried by reports that the Israeli army had raided one of the last functioning hospitals in northern Gaza.
Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said WHO had lost contact with the Kamal Adwan hospital in Beit Lahia, which had nearly 200 patients amid the attack in nearby Jabalia.
Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry said the Israeli military had detained patients, staff and displaced residents, while the Israeli military said its forces were operating “in the area” based intelligence “relating to the presence of terrorists”.
Hundreds of Palestinians are believed to have been killed and tens of thousands displaced since Israeli forces returned to Jabalia.
Residents unwilling or unable to comply with Israel’s evacuation orders are said to be living in increasingly desperate conditions, with food and other necessities increasingly running out.
The head of the United Nations human rights agency warned Friday that the entire population of northern Gaza is being bombed “relentlessly,” with hundreds of thousands ordered to relocate with no guarantee of return. return.
“Unimaginably, the situation is getting worse,” Türk said.
“The Israeli government’s policies and activities in northern Gaza risk causing all Palestinians to leave the area. We are facing crimes that could reach atrocious proportions, including the possibility of extending them to crimes against humanity.”
He also said it was completely unacceptable that Palestinian armed groups were reportedly operating among civilians, including inside shelters for displaced persons, and putting them at risk.
Türk said the world’s nations – all of which are members of the Geneva Conventions – must act now to uphold them.
“These are binding and widely accepted norms developed to preserve a minimum level of humanity. I beg you to put the protection of civilians and human rights first and not to give up that minimum humanity,” he said.
It is worth noting that Türk added that where there is a risk of genocide, all countries are legally bound to prevent it. To date, senior United Nations figures have largely avoided using the word genocide in connection with Gaza.
Israel has long accused the United Nations of bias and denied its forces committed war crimes. They also vehemently deny that they committed genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.
World Health OrganizationOn Friday morning, Gaza’s Health Ministry said in a statement that Israeli forces had “stormed” the Kamal Adwan hospital and were holding hundreds of patients, medical staff and displaced people inside.
In the afternoon, the ministry said the evacuated men were forced to strip and some were arrested.
It added that several medical staff, including the hospital’s director, Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya, had also not been contacted since they were summoned to see the Israeli forces stationed in the yard.
A video posted on social media late Thursday showed Dr. Abu Safiya talking on the phone as he walked through a crowded area with what appeared to be broken windows and damaged ceilings.
“Instead of receiving aid, we received tanks. Tanks are shelling the building,” he said.
“At midnight, tanks and bulldozers of the occupation army arrived at the hospital,” Eid Sabbah, director of nursing, said in a voice to Reuters news agency early on Friday. , the wounded and children started as [the Israeli forces] started shooting at the hospital.”
He said Israeli forces withdrew when the WHO delegation brought ambulances and evacuated some patients. However, tanks later returned to the surrounding area and opened fire on the hospital, hitting oxygen stores before the army began raids and ordered staff and patients to leave, he said. more.
The ministry said two children died in the intensive care unit after the hospital’s generator stopped working and an oxygen station was hit, but there were no similar reports from doctors or the WHO.
The Israeli army said it was not aware of tanks firing at the hospital.
Dr. Tedros confirmed that a WHO team arrived at the hospital on Thursday evening “amid conflict in the surrounding area” and transferred 23 patients and 26 caregivers to al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City . They also provide blood units, trauma and surgical supplies.
However, he added that the UN agency had lost contact with staff at the hospital since news of the raid emerged.
“Kamal Adwan Hospital is overloaded with nearly 200 patients – there are constantly terrible injuries. It also has hundreds of people looking for shelter,” he warned.
“We call for an immediate ceasefire; and protect hospitals, patients, medical and humanitarian professionals.”
The Israeli army said in a statement that its forces were “operating in the area of Kamal Adwan Hospital in Jabalia, based on intelligence regarding the presence of terrorists and infrastructure terrorism in the region”.
“In the weeks leading up to the campaign, [forces] facilitated the evacuation of patients from the area while maintaining emergency services,” it added.
Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi called on US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to put pressure on Israel over the deteriorating humanitarian situation and mass displacement of civilians in the North.
“We look at northern Gaza and we see ethnic cleansing going on, and that has to stop,” he said at the start of the meeting in London.
Many Palestinians believe that the Israeli military is carrying out the so-called “Generals’ Plan” in the north, which would force all 400,000 civilians there to evacuate south, followed by an invasion. surround any remaining Hamas fighters.
The Israeli military denies having such a plan and denies that it is ensuring that civilians are kept out of danger.
Safadi also warned that the Middle East is on the “brink of regional war,” adding that every time he meets with Blinken the situation gets worse, “not because we are not trying but because we there is an Israeli government that does not listen. anyone, and it has to stop.”
“The only way to save the region from that situation is for Israel to stop its acts of aggression in Gaza, in Lebanon, to stop unilateral measures, illegal measures in the West Bank, that is also pushing the situation into the abyss.”
Blinken met with Arab leaders and foreign ministers in Britain after a diplomatic trip to the Middle East.
The US is said to be working on plans for post-conflict Gaza, trying to win sympathy from Arab countries even though progress on a ceasefire and hostage agreement in Gaza has stalled for weeks.
Blinken said he was having important conversations “about ending the war in Gaza and charting the path for what comes next.” He also said there is a “real sense of urgency in reaching a diplomatic solution” to the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon.
On Thursday, Israel said it would send the head of its Mossad intelligence agency to Doha on Sunday to meet with the CIA director and Qatar’s prime minister amid new efforts to restart a ceasefire in Gaza. and hostage release negotiations.
It came after a Hamas delegation met Egyptian security officials in Cairo. Hamas said there were no changes to the terms of the deal, which include Israel’s complete withdrawal of troops from Gaza.
Israel launched a campaign to destroy Hamas in response to the group’s unprecedented attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, which left about 1,200 people dead and 251 others taken hostage.
According to the Hamas-run Health Ministry, more than 42,840 people have been killed in Gaza since then.
