Deir Al-Balah, October 29 (RHC)-- The United Nations relief agency says thousands of Palestinians, desperate due to three weeks of total siege and bombing, broke into several of its warehouses in the Gaza Strip, taking wheat, flour and other basic goods.
“This is a worrying sign that civil order is starting to break down after three weeks of war and a tight siege,” said Thomas White, director of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) in Gaza.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Sunday repeated appeals to end the bloodshed and agree on a ceasefire to end the “nightmare.” “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,” Guterres said.
Israel imposed a total siege – no food, water, electricity – on the Palestinian enclave of 2.3 million people in the wake of the Hamas attack in Israel. Israel has allowed limited supplies of basic necessities and medicines. Efforts are under way to get more supply of food, water, fuel and medicine in the enclave that has been under intense bombing since October 7.
Gaza’s Health Ministry said the death toll among Palestinians has crossed 8,000 – most of them women and minors – as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced a “second stage” in the war after tanks and infantry pushed into Gaza over the weekend.
The bombardment over the weekend – described by Gaza residents as the most intense of the war – knocked out communications in the territory late on Friday, largely cutting off the besieged enclave’s 2.3 million people from the world. Communications were restored to much of Gaza early on Sunday.
The Israeli military said on Sunday it had struck more than 450 targets over the past 24 hours, including Hamas command centres, observation posts and antitank missile launching positions. It said more ground forces were sent into Gaza overnight.
UNRWA provides necessities in Gaza, and many of the displaced Palestinians are sheltering in UNRWA schools. Several hospitals have shut down and others are on the verge of closing down due to a lack of fuel.
