Rome/Cairo: According to a Gaza health ministry official, an Israeli strike on a shelter in the northern Gaza Strip on Thursday resulted in the deaths of at least 28 Palestinians, including children.
The official, Medhat Abbas, stated that other people were also hurt in the incident and that “there is no water to extinguish the fire.” Nothing is present. It’s a carnage right now. “Children and civilians are being burned under fire and killed,” stated Abbas.
At least 11 Palestinians were killed in two distinct Israeli attacks in Gaza City earlier on Thursday, according to Palestinian health sources, and several more were slain in the central and southern regions of Gaza.
According to the two medical institutions, ten dead were sent to Kamal Adwan Hospital and four to Al Awda Hospital. The Israeli attack on the now-shelter Abu Hussein school in Jabalia, northern Gaza, claimed the lives of the victims.
UN estimates 345,000 Gazans will experience “catastrophic” hunger this winter.
Palestinian media footage from the Abu Hussein School showed smoke rising from burning tents while a large number of displaced individuals were evacuating victims, including children, to ambulances.
Israeli forces, according to residents of Jabalia in northern Gaza, destroyed groups of houses by firing from the air, from tanks, and by planting bombs within buildings that were then remotely detonated. The Israeli military has spent the last two weeks concentrating on this location.
Locals claimed that mobility between the extreme north of the enclave, Beit Hanoun, Jabalia, and Beit Lahiya, was effectively blocked by Israeli forces. Using a chat app, one resident stated, “We have written our death notes and we are not leaving Jabalia.”
Gaza’s hunger
Due to a decline in assistance deliveries, about 345,000 Gazans are expected to experience “catastrophic” levels of hunger this winter, according to UN agencies, who also warned of the ongoing risk of famine throughout the Palestinian enclave. This is an increase from the 133,000 persons who, in a classification created by NGOs and UN agencies, are currently classified as suffering from “catastrophic food insecurity.”
According to the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) report, Gazans saw some respite this summer due to a spike in humanitarian supplies. However, the amount of goods entering Gaza—both humanitarian and commercial—was at its lowest point since March in September.
It thus predicted that between November 2024 and April 2025, 345,000 individuals, or 16 percent of the population, will probably experience catastrophic food insecurity (IPC Phase 5).
The report stated that unless there is a significant improvement, the recent “sharp decline” in aid “will profoundly limit the ability of families to feed themselves and access essential goods and services in the coming months.”
Arif Husain, head economist for the UN World Food Programme, said, “Commercial supplies are down, there is large-scale displacement, infrastructure is decimated, agriculture has collapsed and people have no money.”
“The IPC has projected that the situation will worsen starting in November, which takes all of this into account.”
“We have to take action right away.”
Philippe Lazzarini, the director of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, issued a famine warning on Wednesday in the region. According to the IPC assessment, “as long as conflict continues and humanitarian access is restricted, there is a risk of famine between November 2024 and April 2025.”
“The likelihood of epidemic outbreaks and progression into an unparalleled tragedy is elevated by the severe concentration of population in an ever-shrinking region, living in makeshift shelters with sporadic access to humanitarian supplies and services.” The study went on to say that further Israeli attacks and new orders for evacuation were “already increasing the likelihood of this worst-case scenario occurring.”
