In the southern Gaza Strip in the city of Khan Younis, children fetch water.
As the Israeli-Palestinian conflict enters its second month, Secretary-General António Guterres said in his speech today that Gaza's nightmare is not just a humanitarian crisis, but a human crisis. He called on the international community to help immediately put an end to the inhumane collective suffering and to significantly expand humanitarian assistance to Gaza.
Conflict casualties at a glance (as of 6 November local time, from the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs daily situation report)
Palestinian
● Gaza: 10,022 dead, 25,408 injured and 2,350 missing
● Israel: At least 1,000 deaths
Israelite
• Israel: Some 1,400 killed, 5,400 wounded, and 240 detained
• Gaza: 30 deaths
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), citing data from the Gaza health sector, said the death toll in the Gaza Strip has exceeded 10,000 since October 7, including 4,104 children and 2,550 women.
Meanwhile, some 2,350 people in Gaza, including 1,300 children, are missing, and most are estimated to be trapped under rubble awaiting rescue, or dead in the rubble.
▌Guterres: The Gaza nightmare is a crisis of humanity
Guterres said the nightmare in Gaza is not just a humanitarian crisis, but a human crisis. IDF ground operations and continued bombardment have hit civilians, hospitals, refugee camps, mosques, churches and United Nations facilities, including shelters.
"No one is safe," he said. ”
The Secretary-General reiterates his strong condemnation of the heinous terrorist acts perpetrated by Hamas on 7 October and reiterates his call for the immediate, unconditional and safe release of the hostages held in Gaza.
He is deeply concerned about the clear violations of international humanitarian law that are taking place. He stressed that no party to an armed conflict should be above international humanitarian law and that the protection of civilians must be paramount.
A humanitarian ceasefire is imminent
Guterres said Gaza is becoming a graveyard for children. Hundreds of girls and boys are killed and injured every day. In the space of four weeks, more journalists were killed than in any conflict in 30 years.
More United Nations aid workers have been killed than at any comparable time in the history of the United Nations. Since 7 October, UNRWA has lost 89 staff members.
He stressed that the intensifying catastrophe made the need for a humanitarian ceasefire increasingly urgent. The international community faces an urgent and fundamental responsibility: to put an end to the inhumane collective suffering and to significantly expand humanitarian assistance to Gaza.
$1.2 billion in humanitarian appeals
The Secretary-General said the United Nations and its partners are launching a $1.2 billion humanitarian appeal to help 2.7 million Palestinians.
He noted that some life-saving aid was entering Gaza from Egypt through the Rafah crossing. But this aid is a drop in the bucket.
Guterres stressed that the way forward is clear: a humanitarian ceasefire now, a safe and rapid flow of more food, water, medicine and fuel into Gaza now and on the scale required, and ensuring unrestricted delivery of supplies to all those in need in Gaza now.
"To do that, we need more money now," he said. ”
Fear of conflict spillover
Guterres said he remained gravely concerned about the increase in violence and the widening of the scope of the conflict. From Lebanon and Syria to Iraq and Yemen, the situation is escalating. Jewish and Muslim communities in many parts of the world are on high alert and fear for their personal safety.
He stressed that this escalation must stop. Cool heads and diplomatic efforts must prevail, and hateful rhetoric and provocations must end.
"People's emotions are in a state of frenzy," he said. Tensions are rising. The sight of suffering is heartbreaking. But we must find a way to preserve our common humanity. ”
Guterres concluded by calling on the international community to take action "to get out of this dead-end that is fraught with cruelty, horror and suffering, and symbolizes destruction" to pave the way for peace and a two-State solution for Israelis and Palestinians living side by side in peace and security.
▌Joint statement: Enough, let's stop in moderation
The heads of more than a dozen UN agencies today renewed their urgent appeals for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire and for more life-saving aid to enter Gaza.
The joint statement described Israel's killing of large numbers of Gaza civilians and its continued deprivation of food, water, medicine, electricity and fuel for Gaza's 2.2 million residents as "atrocities"
They stressed that the population of the entire Gaza Strip is under siege and under attack and is denied access to the necessities of survival. The bombing of their homes, shelters, hospitals and places of worship is unacceptable.
They reiterated their call on all parties to abide by their obligations under international humanitarian law and human rights law, and for the immediate and unconditional release of all civilians held hostage.
They stressed that civilians and the infrastructure on which they depend, including hospitals, shelters and schools, must be protected.
"We need an immediate humanitarian ceasefire," the statement concluded. It's been 30 days, that's enough, let's stop in moderation. This must now be stopped. ”
▌OCHA: The last power supply was cut off
The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reported that in Gaza, people queued outside bakeries in the hope of buying bread, despite the danger of air strikes, while electricity supply continued to dwindle.
Israeli airstrikes have reportedly destroyed solar panels on the roofs of many buildings, particularly in Gaza City, over the past few days. As the Israeli Government continues to ban fuel from Gaza, airstrikes have cut off the last source of electricity for hospitals, water and food production.
▌WHO: There is no longer a safe haven for the wounded
OCHA reported that attacks continued over the weekend in the vicinity of several hospitals in the Gaza Strip, including the Indonesian Hospital in Betra Haiya City and the Al-Quds Hospital in Tahawa in Gaza City, resulting in casualties and property damage. The Israeli military, in turn, claimed that members of Palestinian armed groups had fired from those areas.
As of November 4, the World Health Organization has reported more than 100 attacks on health facilities, resulting in nearly 1,000 deaths and injuries.
An ambulance convoy was reportedly attacked outside the Shifa hospital on its way to the Rafah border crossing. U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres said on Friday that he was "shocked" by the attacks in Gaza.
WHO also condemned the attack, warning that attacks on health care, including targeting hospitals and restricting the delivery of essential aid such as medical supplies, fuel and water, could constitute violations of international humanitarian law.
Currently, 14 of Gaza's 35 hospitals have ceased operations, while more than 23,000 people have been injured and in need of treatment in Gaza since 7 October.
The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) noted that since the attack on the ambulance convoy last Friday, the evacuation of dual nationals and the wounded through the Rafah crossing has come to a complete halt.
The agency said it received no reports of people being allowed to leave Gaza over the weekend because "Hamas, Israel and Egypt failed to reach an agreement on the safe evacuation of sick patients from northern Gaza."
▌UNRWA: Sickness increases
On 13 October, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) ordered Gazans to leave Gaza City and the strip north of Gaza, and the resulting massive displacement exacerbated Gaza's already fragile health situation.
Of the 1.5 million internally displaced persons in the Gaza Strip, more than 700,000 are taking refuge in 149 facilities managed by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, which are severely overcrowded.
A number of cases of acute respiratory infection, diarrhoea and chickenpox were reported among persons seeking refuge in UNRWA shelters.
The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) warned that water scarcity in the northern Gaza Strip is particularly acute, with only unsafe sources of water available for drinking, raising concerns about dehydration and waterborne diseases, while "the danger of sewage overflow" is imminent, according to the municipality, when three sewage pipes were attacked in Gaza City last week.
▌UNRWA: Shelters are no longer safe to provide assistance
UNRWA deplored the repeated attacks on its shelters by Israeli artillery fire and stated that they were no longer safe for those seeking refuge. On Saturday, 15 people were killed and 70 injured in a direct attack on a school set up by the agency in the Jabaliya refugee camp in northern Gaza.
As of 12 October, more than 160,000 displaced people had taken refuge in 57 facilities in Gaza City and North Gaza Province, before the Israeli authorities issued evacuation orders, UNRWA said.
However, the agency warned that it is now "no longer possible to access these shelters to provide assistance or protect internally displaced persons, and their needs and conditions are unknown".
