Israel-Hamas war: UN agencies seek Gaza ceasefire; communications blackout again
The heads of 11 United Nations (U.N.) agencies and six humanitarian organizations have come together to issue a joint plea for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza.
In a statement issued on Sunday night, they urged the protection of civilians and swift access to essential resources, including food, water, medicine, and fuel.
The heads of the Inter-Agency Standing Committee on the situation in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory denounced the killing and hostage-taking of Israelis in surprise Oct. 7 attacks by Hamas as “horrific”, they said the “horrific killings of even more civilians in Gaza is an outrage, as is cutting off 2.2 million Palestinians from food, water, medicine, electricity and fuel.”
The U.N. and humanitarian organizations said more than 23,000 injured people need immediate treatment and hospitals are overstretched.
“An entire population is besieged and under attack, denied access to the essentials for survival, bombed in their homes, shelters, hospitals and places of worship,” the joint statement said.
The statement highlighted the devastating toll on aid workers, with scores being killed since October 7, including 88 United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) colleagues, marking the highest number of United Nations fatalities ever recorded in a single conflict. The joint plea called for the immediate and unconditional release of all civilians held hostage and demanded the protection of civilians and the vital infrastructure they rely on, including hospitals, shelters, and schools.
“More aid – food, water, medicine and of course fuel – must enter Gaza safely, swiftly and at the scale needed, and must reach people in need, especially women and children, wherever they are,” they said.
“We need an immediate humanitarian ceasefire. It’s been 30 days. Enough is enough. This must stop now.”
Gaza, meanwhile, fell under its third total communications blackout since the Israeli offensive in the Hamas-controlled territory after Oct 7. attacks. Palestinian communications company Paltel announced that all of its “communication and internet services” were down once again. Internet access advocacy group NetBlocks.org confirmed that communications were curtailed across the besieged enclave, reported the Associated Press.
Even as the US kept urging Israel to take a humanitarian pause from its relentless bombardment of Gaza and rising civilian deaths, the Israeli airstrikes on Sunday hit two refugee camps in the central Gaza Strip, killing at least 53 people and wounding dozens, according to multiple reports.
The Palestinian death toll in the Israel-Hamas war surpassed 9,700 with more than 4,000 of them children and minors, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry in Gaza. In the occupied West Bank, more than 140 Palestinians have been killed in violence and Israeli raids.