Anjali Sharma
GG News Bureau
UNITED NATIONS, 23rd Jan. UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs on Monday reported 25,000 civilians dies in Gaza war, and the Intense” Israeli bombardment in Gaza continued with rocket fire into Israel by Palestinian militant groups.
OCHA cited Gaza’s health authorities noted that some 62,681 Palestinians have been injured by Israeli strikes launched in retaliation for Hamas-led massacres in Israel that left some 1,200 dead and around 250 people taken hostage.
According to the Israeli military 2 Israeli soldiers have been killed in Gaza since Friday, OCHA said the total number killed 193 since the start of the ground operation and 1,203 soldiers injured.
OCHA reported 343 Palestinians killed and 573 people injured during the same time.
UN chief Antonio Guterres condemned the ongoing Gaza bloodshed as “heartbreaking and utterly unacceptable.
The development came as Israeli and Palestinian foreign ministers prepared to meet their European Union counterparts on Monday in separate private talks in Brussels, he noted.
Mr. Guterres described the Middle East as “a tinderbox”, before issuing an appeal to “do all we can to prevent conflict from igniting across the region” during his address at a summit of the G77+China in Kampala on Sunday
“Israel’s military operations have spread mass destruction and killed civilians on a scale unprecedented during my time as the SG,” Mr. Guterres said.
He reiterated his support for a two-State solution for Israelis and Palestinians.
“The denial of the right to statehood for the Palestinian people would indefinitely prolong a conflict that has become a major threat to global peace and security; exacerbate polarization; and embolden extremists everywhere,” he said.
OCHA highlighted the need among Gazans after three months of “intense” bombardment, added that only 15 bakeries were now operational in Gaza – “six in Rafah and nine in Deir al Balah” – and none is open north of Wadi Gaza.
WFP has provided flour, salt, yeast and sugar to almost all of these functioning bakeries have continued to receive support.
“Through this initiative, about 250,000 people were able to purchase bread at a subsidized price,” OCHA noted in its latest update on the emergency late on Sunday.
UNRWA reported on Monday that telecommunications shutdowns had entered a seventh day.
“Disruption of telecommunication services prevents people accessing life-saving information, called first responders and continues to impede humanitarian response,” the UN agency said in a tweet on X, formerly Twitter.
UNRWA latest update reported that 1.7 million people are confirmed displaced within Gaza.
The agency said 335 internally displaced people have been killed while sheltering in the agency’s premises and 1,161 have been injured, in addition to the 151 UNWRA staff killed and 141 installations damaged since 7 October.
