UNITED NATIONS, Oct 16: Antonio Guterres, the head of the UN, has asked Israel to permit quick and unhindered access to humanitarian aid for Gaza Strip residents and has urged Hamas to free all hostages promptly and unconditionally. There is a complete siege on the 2.3 million-person, by Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip. In response to continuous clashes with the Palestinian militant group Hamas, Israel has shut off all supplies of food, water, and gasoline.Israel will establish a “complete siege” on the region, according to Defence Minister Yoav Gallant’s statement on Monday.“As Secretary-General of the United Nations, it is my responsibility to make two strong humanitarian appeals at this dramatic moment, as we are on the brink of the abyss in the Middle East,” Guterres said in a statement on Sunday. The UN Secretary-General pleaded with Hamas to swiftly and unconditionally free all hostages. For the benefit of the population in Gaza, Guterres emphasised that Israel must be given quick and unhindered access to humanitarian personnel and supplies.“These two goals are both legitimate in and of themselves. They must be put into action because doing so is morally correct; they should not be used as negotiating chips.Gaza is running out of water, electricity, and other necessities, the UN chief sounded a stark warning. He pointed out that the UN has stores of food, water, non-food products, medical supplies, and gasoline in Egypt, Jordan, the West Bank, and Israel that can be sent in a matter of hours. “To ensure delivery, our selfless staff on the ground, along with NGO partners, need to be able to bring these supplies into and throughout Gaza safely, without impediment to deliver to those in need,” Guterres said.Since the most recent battle between Israel and Hamas broke out following the militant group’s attack on various locations within Israel on October 7 and Israel’s subsequent declaration of war, the United Nations and other humanitarian organisations have been working around the clock to preposition aid. On Sunday, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said that Israel has continued to attack Gaza heavily from the air, sea, and land for nearly unbroken periods of time. According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza, there have been 455 Palestinian dead and 856 wounded in Gaza over the last 24 hours.Following Israel’s demand that Palestinians in Gaza move to the southern half of the strip, OCHA reported that by Saturday afternoon, almost 600,000 IDPs were being accommodated in Gaza’s central and southern regions alone, under increasingly precarious conditions.It was noted that this number has greatly increased since that time. The emergency shelters authorised by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) are home to about 300,000 people; the remainder are housed in public spaces and with host families. On Sunday, the OCHA reported that the city of Sderot in southern Israel had nearly completely been evacuated. Smaller Israeli settlements around Gaza have already been completely evacuated in recent days, and it’s also been reported that many Ashqelon City inhabitants have also fled.According to the UN agency, 2,670 Palestinians have died and 9,600 have been injured since hostilities began. The number of Palestinian deaths in Gaza over the eight days Israeli warfare has now eclipsed the 2,251 deaths that occurred during the almost seven-week-long 2014 escalation. The Palestinian Civil Defence estimates that there may be more than 1,000 persons missing and presumed trapped under the rubble. According to the Gaza Ministry of Health, as of October 15, 47 families, or roughly 500 persons, had died. (Agencies)
