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One-third of hospitals in Gaza and nearly two-thirds of primary health care clinics have had to shut due to damage or lack of fuel, the United Nations (UN) has said.

The UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) warned it would have to halt operations on Wednesday night due to dwindling fuel supplies.

A lack of resources and masses of wounded have made hospital treatment difficult as Israeli jets continue to strike the territory, where 2.3 million people live.

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Tom White, director of the UNRWA, said the “main concern” is that Gaza will run out of fuel.

“We really need to find a solution to the fuel situation, otherwise our aid operation will come to a stop. People will not have access to clean drinking water and hospitals will be closing,” he told CNN.

“Even if convoys come into Gaza, we won’t have the fuel in our trucks to collect and distribute that aid.”

Following a blockade of aid, Israel has allowed a small number of trucks to cross the border from Egypt into Gaza but continued to bar fuel – needed to power hospital generators – to prevent Hamas from seizing it.

Another 20 trucks crossed the Rafah border late on Tuesday, but UN agencies said more than 20 times as much was needed for the population, who depended on aid even in peacetime.

Wounded Palestinians receive treatment at the al-Shifa hospital, following Israeli airstrikes on Gaza City, central Gaza Strip, Monday, Oct. 23, 2023. (AP Photo/Abed Khaled)
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Wounded Palestinians receive treatment at the al Shifa hospital. Pic: AP

Khan Yunis: A'worker observes the medical aid sent by the World Health Organization (WHO)
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Medical aid sent by the World Health Organization. Pic: AP

Pope Francis, who said he is “always thinking about the grave situation in Palestine and Israel”, has renewed his calls for help to reach those in need.

“I encourage the release of hostages and the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza,” he said during his weekly audience on Wednesday.

On Friday, he is expected to lead special prayers for peace in St Peter’s Basilica, in what he said would be a “day of fasting, prayers and penance”.

Pope Francis looks on, on the day of the weekly general audience in Saint Peter's Square at the Vatican, October 25, 2023. REUTERS/Guglielmo Mangiapane
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Pope Francis said he thinks about the situation in the Middle East every day

It follows international calls, led by the US and Russia, for a pause in fighting to allow aid into Gaza.

Washington argued for short pauses to allow aid in, while Russia wants a wider truce.

So far, Israel has resisted both, arguing that Hamas would only take advantage and create new threats to its civilians.

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Palestinians inspect the rubble of a building following overnight Israeli air strikes on the Rafah refugee camp
Pic:DPA/AP
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Palestinians inspect the rubble of a building following overnight Israeli air strikes. Pic: AP

In addition to a lack of fuel, doctors have warned patients are showing signs of disease caused by overcrowding and poor sanitation.

Wounded individuals are laid on the ground without even simple medical aid, while others wait for days for surgery because there are so many critical cases, the Hamas-run health ministry said.

A total of 704 Palestinians, including 305 children, were killed on Tuesday, the health ministry added.

This is the highest number reported in a single day since the conflict began nearly three weeks ago, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

The UN also says more than 5,000 people have been killed in Gaza since 7 October.

The bodies of Israelis killed in an Hamas militant attack are gathered in refrigerated containers for identification at a military base in Ramla, Israel, on Tuesday Oct. 24, 2023. Official said the 784 bodies have been identitified so far. Israeli officials say More than 1,400 people were killed and over 200 taken captive in Gaza, in the multi-front attack by the Hamas militant group on Oct. 7. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)
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The bodies of Israelis killed are gathered in refrigerated containers. Pic: AP

In Israel, more than 1,400 people have been killed due to the conflict – mostly civilians murdered during the initial Hamas attack, according to the Israeli government.

Hamas is also holding more than 200 people hostage that it captured and brought back to Gaza.

Four people have been released so far, including a mother and a daughter with dual US and Israeli nationality, and two Israeli civilian women.

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Ukraine war: Russia launches drone strike on Kyiv – as commander ‘sacked for lying about war progress’

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Ukraine war: Russia launches drone strike on Kyiv - as commander 'sacked for lying about war progress'

Russia launched a large drone attack on Kyiv overnight, with Volodymyr Zelenskyy warning the attack shows his capital needs better air defences.

Ukraine’s air defence units shot down 50 of 73 Russian drones launched, with no immediate reports of damage or injuries as a result of the attacks.

Russia has used more than 800 guided aerial bombs and around 460 attack drones in the past week.

Warning that Ukraine needs to improve its air defences, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said: “An air alert has been sounded almost daily across Ukraine this week”.

“Ukraine is not a testing ground for weapons. Ukraine is a sovereign and independent state.

“But Russia still continues its efforts to kill our people, spread fear and panic, and weaken us.”

Russia did not comment on the attack.

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It comes as Russian media reported that Colonel General Gennady Anashkin, the commander of the country’s southern military district, had been removed from his role over allegedly providing misleading reports about his troops’ progress.

While Russian forces have advanced at the fastest rate in Ukraine since the start of the invasion, forces have been much slower around Siversk and the eastern region of Donetsk.

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Russian war bloggers have long complained that units there are poorly supported and thrown into deadly battles for little tactical gain.

Russia’s ministry of defence has not commented on the reports.

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Russian forces capture ‘former British soldier’ fighting for Ukraine – reports

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Russian forces capture 'former British soldier' fighting for Ukraine - reports

Russian forces have reportedly captured a British man while he was fighting for Ukraine.

In a widely circulated video posted on Sunday, the man says his name is James Scott Rhys Anderson, aged 22.

He says he is a former British Army soldier who signed up to fight for Ukraine’s International Legion after his job.

He is dressed in army fatigues and speaks with an English accent as he says to camera: “I was in the British Army before, from 2019 to 2023, 22 Signal Regiment.”

He tells the camera he was “just a private”, “a signalman” in “One Signal Brigade, 22 Signal Regiment, 252 Squadron”.

“When I left… got fired from my job, I applied on the International Legion webpage. I had just lost everything. I just lost my job,” he said.

“My dad was away in prison, I see it on the TV,” he added, shaking his head. “It was a stupid idea.”

In a second video, he is shown with his hands tied and at one point, with tape over his eyes.

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He describes how he had travelled to Ukraine from Britain, saying: “I flew to Krakow, Poland, from London Luton. Bus from there to Medyka in Poland, on the Ukraine border.”

Russian state news agency Tass reported that a military source said a “UK mercenary” had been “taken prisoner in the Kursk area” of Russia.

The UK Foreign Office said it was “supporting the family of a British man following reports of his detention”.

The Ministry of Defence has declined to comment at this stage.

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Body of missing rabbi Zvi Kogan found in UAE – as Israeli PM says he was murdered in ‘antisemitic terror incident’

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Body of missing rabbi Zvi Kogan found in UAE - as Israeli PM says he was murdered in 'antisemitic terror incident'

The body of an Israeli-Moldovan rabbi who went missing in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has been found, Israel has said.

Zvi Kogan, the Chabad representative in the UAE, went missing on Thursday.

A statement from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu‘s office on Sunday said the 28-year-old rabbi was murdered, calling it a “heinous antisemitic terror incident”.

“The state of Israel will act with all means to seek justice with the criminals responsible for his death,” it said.

On Saturday, Israeli intelligence agency Mossad said it was investigating the disappearance as suspicions arose that he had been kidnapped.

The Emirati government gave no immediate acknowledgment that Mr Kogan had been found dead. Its interior ministry has described the rabbi as being “missing and out of contact”.

“Specialised authorities immediately began search and investigation operations upon receiving the report,” the interior ministry said.

Mr Kogan lived in the UAE with his wife Rivky, who is a US citizen. He ran a Kosher grocery store in Dubai, which has been the target of online protests by pro-Palestinian supporters.

The Chabad Lubavitch movement, a prominent and highly observant branch of Orthodox Judaism, said Mr Kogan was last seen in Dubai.

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Israeli authorities reissued their recommendation against all non-essential travel to the UAE and said visitors currently there should minimise movement and remain in secure areas.

The rabbi’s disappearance comes as Iran has threatened to retaliate against Israel after the two countries traded fire in October.

While the Israeli statement on Mr Kogan did not mention Iran, Iranian intelligence services have previously carried out kidnappings in the UAE.

The UAE diplomatically recognised Israel in 2020. Since then, synagogues and businesses catering to kosher diners have been set up for the burgeoning Jewish community but the unrest in the Middle East has sparked deep anger in the country.

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