Israel-Hamas war: UN calls for more aid to be allowed into Gaza amid ‘collective punishment’ blockade
Israel must allow more aid into Gaza amid a blockade that is being used to “collectively punish more than two million people”, a UN official has said.
A blockade on the territory has meant dwindling supplies of food, fuel, water and medicine, and both UN and Arab leaders have called for a ceasefire to allow for the entry of more humanitarian aid.
Philippe Lazzarini, the commissioner-general of the UN Palestinian Refugee Agency (UNWRA), said public services have collapsed and the region is on the brink of a serious outbreak of disease.
“On a daily basis, our colleagues have to prioritise now because they have to ration the very limited fuel that they still have,” he told Sky News.
“Over the last few days, they had to decrease significantly the amount of fuel they provided to hospitals, to bakeries, to the water station. But in the coming days, if no more fuel is being made available to our colleagues, they will have to take even tougher decisions.
“And I have also warned that we are very close to almost a cessation of our operation because fuel is even needed for us to be able to move the trucks, to bring it in the warehouse, to distribute to the people being scattered in shelters.”
Israel-Gaza latest: Israel conducts ‘sea raid’
Palestinians carry an injured man out of the destruction following Israeli airstrikes on Gaza City. Pic: AP
Mr Lazzarini added: “I think we are on the brink of a serious outbreak of disease. It’s not just a question of the water, but now we have also sewage water in the street.
“People have also their immunity being weakened, people start to be hungry, also the winter is also here, the rainy season is about to arrive and we have tens if not hundreds of thousands of people in the street. This disaster will become a real nightmare and a total catastrophe.”
Earlier, he said: “The siege means that food, water and fuel, all basic commodities, are being used to collectively punish more than two million people.”
Mr Lazzarini said negotiations have only resulted in a handful of trucks making their way into Gaza.
“This will not reverse the fact that Gaza is being strangled,” he added.
Hospitals have found it difficult to source fuel to run emergency generators that power incubators and other life-saving equipment after Israel cut off all fuel deliveries to Gaza at the start of the war, forcing its only power plant to shut down.
Over the last week, Israel has allowed more than 80 trucks with aid to enter from Egypt through the Rafah crossing, the only entry point into Gaza not controlled by Israel.
But aid workers have said the convoys meet only a tiny fraction of the territory’s rising humanitarian needs.
Read more from Sky News:
Border Force teams set up in Egypt to help British citizens – if they can get out of Gaza
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Satellite data shows Israel intensifying bombing of south Gaza
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‘345 killed in Gaza in last 24 hours’
Sheer scale of destruction
Some 7,300 Palestinians have died in the three weeks after Hamas staged a bloody attack into Israel, according to officials in Gaza.
On Thursday Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry said more than 3,000 minors and more than 1,500 women had been killed.
Footage from Sky News showed the scale of destruction caused by Israeli strikes on Gaza, as well as a boy being pulled from the wreckage of the aftermath of an attack.
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‘There is no drinking water’
Around 1.4 million of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents have fled their homes, with nearly half crowding into UN shelters.
Hundreds of thousands remain in northern Gaza despite Israel ordering them to evacuate to the south and saying those who remain might be considered “accomplices” of Hamas.
More than 1,400 people were killed in the Hamas attack on Israel on 7 October, according to the Israeli government, with at least 229 hostages having been taken into Gaza.
Smoke rises after an Israeli strike on Gaza. Pic: AP
Smoke rises from a residential apartment building in Tel Aviv where a rocket hit after being fired from Gaza
Palestinian militants have fired thousands of rockets into Israel, including one that hit a residential building in Tel Aviv on Friday and injured four people.
An Israeli ground attack on Gaza is expected to cause even higher casualties on both sides as they battle each other in dense residential areas.
World
Israeli PM says Gaza ceasefire ‘will be terminated’ if hostages are not returned by Hamas on Saturday
Police investigating the deaths of a British couple at their home in rural France have released details from a post-mortem examination.
Prosecutors say Dawn Searle, 56, was found at their property in Les Pesquies with “several” injuries to her head, while her husband, Andrew Searle, 62, was found hanged with no visible defensive injuries.
They are investigating whether the deaths are the result of a murder-suicide or if a third party was involved.
The pair are said to have been found dead by a German friend, who lives nearby, on Thursday after Mr Searle didn’t arrive for one of their regular dog walks.
The couple moved to the hamlet of Les Pesquies around a decade ago and married in the nearby town of Villefranche-de-Rouergue, in the south of France, in 2023.
Andrew and Dawn Searle’s home
A statement from the office of public prosecutor Nicolas Rigot-Muller said Ms Searle was found partially dressed with a major wound to her skull next to a box with jewellery inside.
But no object or weapon was found that could’ve caused the wounds, which an autopsy carried out in Montpellier on Monday found were caused by a blunt and sharp object. There were no signs of sexual assault.
The house appeared to have been quickly searched, while some cash was found in the couple’s room.
Investigators are conducting further examinations, including toxicology and pathology tests, to help determine the precise circumstances of their deaths.
A police officer outside Andrew and Dawn Searle’s home in France
The village of Villefranche-de-Rouergue Aveyron
They each have two children from previous relationships and Ms Searle’s son, the country musician and former Hollyoaks star Callum Kerr, said they were in mourning in a statement posted on Saturday.
Family members are understood to have travelled to France, where they have spoken with investigators.
Read more from Sky News:
Identities of bodies recovered from Scottish rivers confirmed
Chelsea footballer Sam Kerr not guilty of racial harassment
The mayor of Villefranche-de-Rouergue, Jean-Sebastien Orcibal, who was also a neighbour of the Searles, said villagers and the British expat community were going to be getting “psychological help” following the incident, which has left locals in shock.
Speaking to Sky News from the town hall in which he conducted the couple’s wedding ceremony, he said: “It doesn’t seem like the problem comes from here because when we knew them and saw them living here they were very happy, very friendly and didn’t seem to have any problems.
“The problem seems to come from the past or somewhere far away.
“It’s an isolated act, it’s very independent. It doesn’t say that it’s a very dangerous territory, in fact, it’s very peaceful and that’s why probably Andy and Dawn chose to live here, because it’s very peaceful.
“Now, did their past come back and get them? That’s another story. That’s totally different from where we are. It could’ve happened anywhere.”
A Foreign Office spokesperson previously said: “We are supporting the family of a British couple who died in France and are liaising with the local authorities.”
Anyone feeling emotionally distressed or suicidal can call Samaritans for help on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org in the UK. In the US, call the Samaritans branch in your area or 1 (800) 273-TALK
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