Gaza is \u201cbecoming a graveyard for children,\u201d the United Nations chief warned on Monday as the death toll rises and calls grow around the world for a ceasefire, one month into Israel\u2019s assault on Hamas \u2013 the militant group that runs the enclave. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe nightmare in Gaza is more than a humanitarian crisis.\u00a0It is a crisis of humanity,\u201d UN Secretary-General Ant\u00f3nio Guterres\u00a0told reporters in New York, adding that the need for a ceasefire is becoming \u201cmore urgent with every passing hour.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cThe parties to the conflict \u2013 and, indeed, the international community \u2013 face an immediate and fundamental responsibility: to stop this inhuman collective suffering and dramatically expand humanitarian aid to Gaza,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
His comments come four weeks after Israel declared war on Hamas, following the Islamist militant group\u2019s brutal attack on October 7 that killed 1,400 people in Israel and saw about 240 others kidnapped. <\/p>\n
Israel retaliated by launching an air and ground offensive on Gaza, vowing to eliminate the militant group. <\/p>\n
From the start, global aid organizations and rights groups have warned that such an assault would be catastrophic for Gaza, which has been cut off from much of the world for nearly 17 years. A blockade imposed by Israel and\u00a0Egypt meant severe restrictions on the movement of goods and people \u2013 contributing to widespread poverty, hunger and dependency on international aid. <\/p>\n
The devastation of\u00a0Israel\u2019s attacks on Gaza is now becoming apparent, with the Hamas-controlled health ministry in the enclave saying Monday that more than 10,000 people have been killed since the war began. That includes more than 4,100 children and 2,600 women, the ministry said. <\/p>\n
Around 1.5 million Gaza residents are now displaced \u2013 70% of the population \u2013 with most living in crowded UN shelters, said Tamara Alrifai, spokesperson for the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) on Monday. <\/p>\n
Many evacuated their homes in the north after being warned by Israel to leave immediately; others were left homeless by relentless airstrikes that have razed buildings across the Gaza Strip. <\/p>\n
A separate statement from the UNRWA described conditions in its shelters as \u201cinhumane,\u201d amid a lack of clean water and sanitation. In the Khan Younis Training Centre, where 22,000 have sought shelter, at least 600 people are sharing one toilet, the UNRWA said. <\/p>\n
Thousands of cases of skin infections, diarrhea, chicken pox and other diseases have been detected, spread by people living in uncomfortably close quarters, it added. <\/p>\n
Decomposing bodies trapped under collapsed buildings also present a health risk\u00a0to survivors, the UNRWA said. <\/p>\n
Emily Callahan, an American nurse who managed to leave Gaza last week, described seeing horrific injuries at the Khan Younis center and other shelters. <\/p>\n
\u201cThere were children with just massive burns down their faces, down their necks, all over their limbs, and because the hospitals are so overwhelmed, they are being discharged immediately after,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n
\u201cThey are being discharged (from hospitals) to these camps with no access to running water \u2026 They are given two hours of water every 12 hours.\u201d <\/p>\n