Gaza’s Health Ministry says the death toll among Palestinians in the Hamas-Israel conflict has crossed 8,000 – most of them women and minors – as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announces a “second stage” in the war after tanks and infantry pushed into Gaza over the weekend.
The weekend’s bombardment – described by Gaza residents as the most intense of the three-week war – knocked out communications in Gaza late on Friday, cutting off most of its 2.3 million people from contact with the world. Communications were restored to parts of Gaza early on Sunday.
Rights organisations including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch had warned that the lack of communications in the enclave was hampering efforts to document war crimes and other abuses.
Israel imposed a total siege – no food, water or electricity – on the Palestinian enclave of 2.3 million people in the wake of the Hamas attack in Israel on October 7. Israel has allowed limited supplies of basic necessities and medicines to reach Gaza. Efforts are under way to get more food, water, fuel and medicine in the enclave, which has been under intense bombardment by Israeli forces.
“The situation in Gaza is growing more desperate by the hour. I regret that instead of a critically needed humanitarian pause, supported by the international community, Israel has intensified its military operations,” United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said during a visit to Nepal’s capital Kathmandu.
The death toll among Palestinians passed 8,000, mostly women and minors, as Israeli tanks and infantry pursued what Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called a “second stage” as Israeli forces continue strikes, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.
Nearly three dozen trucks entered Gaza on Sunday in the largest aid convoy since the bombardment began, but humanitarian workers said the assistance still fell desperately short of needs after thousands of people broke into warehouses to take flour and basic hygiene products.
Communications were restored to most of Gaza’s 2.3 million people Sunday after an Israeli bombardment described by residents as the most intense of the war knocked out phone and internet services late Friday.
Meanwhile, the UN has emphasised that people in Gaza, “including women and girls, urgently need lifesaving supplies, safe shelter, protection, support and maternal health care”.
In an update shared by the UN, as of October 20, almost half a million women in Gaza had been displaced from their homes while 50,000 women are pregnant, with 5,522 expected to deliver in the next month.