The Israeli-Hamas war has already driven around 85% of Gaza’s 2.3 million people from their homes, leveling the northern part of the territory and heightening fears about a similar fate for the south as Israel’s air and ground offensive widened Friday. Tens of thousands of displaced Palestinians have streamed into the already overwhelmed town of Rafah in the southernmost end of Gaza in recent days, according to the United Nations. More than 20,000 Palestinians, two-thirds of them women and children, have been killed since the start of the war, according to the Health Ministry in Hamas-run Gaza, which doesn’t differentiate between civilians and combatants among the dead. About 1,200 people were killed after Hamas raided southern Israel on Oct. 7, with around 240 people taken hostage.
Here’s what’s happening in the war:
Quick Read
- Mass Displacement in Gaza: Approximately 85% of Gaza’s 2.3 million population has been displaced due to the Israeli-Hamas war, with significant destruction in the northern part of the territory.
- Influx in Rafah: The United Nations reports tens of thousands of displaced Palestinians are arriving in Rafah, located at the southernmost end of Gaza.
- Casualty Figures: The Health Ministry in Hamas-controlled Gaza states that over 20,000 Palestinians, predominantly women and children, have been killed since the war began. However, it does not distinguish between civilian and combatant casualties.
- Hamas Raid and Israeli Response: The conflict escalated following a Hamas raid into southern Israel on October 7, leading to approximately 1,200 deaths and around 240 hostages.
- UN Report on Humanitarian Conditions: A United Nations official reported worsening humanitarian conditions in Gaza, emphasizing the need for an immediate humanitarian cease-fire.
- Resolution for Aid Delivery: A recent United Nations Security Council resolution focuses on speeding up aid deliveries to Gaza civilians but does not include a call for an immediate suspension of hostilities between Israel and Hamas.
The Associated Press has the story:
UN Officials: ‘Humanitarian Situation in Gaza continues to deteriorate’
Newslooks- UNITED NATIONS — (AP)
A week after the United Nations Security Council passed a weakened resolution seeking to hasten aid to Gaza, a top U.N. official told the group Friday that humanitarian conditions keep worsening in the besieged enclave.
Assistant Secretary-General Khaled Khiari said “the humanitarian situation in Gaza continues to deteriorate” and reiterated Secretary-General António Guterres’ call for an immediate humanitarian cease-fire.
Last week’s heavily negotiated and long-delayed resolution called for immediately speeding aid deliveries to civilians in Gaza, but an appeal for an “urgent suspension of hostilities” between Israel and Hamas was taken out.
Khiari said the U.N. will report next week on the implementation of an earlier Security Council resolution, from Nov. 15, that called for “urgent and extended humanitarian pauses” in the fighting.
Currently:
— Israeli strikes across Gaza kill dozens of Palestinians, even in largely emptied north
— An American-Canadian-Israeli woman believed to have been held hostage since Oct. 7 is declared dead
— As Gaza war grinds on, tensions soar along Israel’s volatile northern border with Lebanon
— Number of wounded Israeli soldiers grows, representing a hidden cost of war
— On foot and by donkey cart, thousands flee widening Israeli assault in central Gaza
— Find more of AP’s coverage at: https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war.
