The UN Secretary-General is alarmed by reports of Israeli plans to expand ground operations and prolong its military presence in Gaza, a spokesperson for António Guterres said on Monday. On Monday, Israel’s war cabinet approved an expansion of the offensive in Gaza, where it has already killed over 52,000 Palestinians since October 2023.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that a new offensive in the besieged Gaza Strip will be an intensive military operation aimed at defeating Hamas. In a Hebrew-language video message on X, Netanyahu said that Gaza’s Palestinian population “will be moved, for its own protection”.
“This will inevitably lead to countless more civilians killed and the further destruction of Gaza,” said UN Deputy Spokesperson Farhan Haq, responding to a journalist’s question during the regular media briefing in New York.
“What’s imperative now is an end to the violence, not more civilian deaths and destruction. Gaza is, and must remain, an integral part of a future Palestinian State.”
The alert comes as the UN humanitarian team and other NGOs in the Occupied Palestinian Territory on Sunday condemned Israeli efforts to replace the aid delivery system with one where supplies would reportedly be funnelled through military hubs in the south. This proposal would leave “large parts of Gaza…less mobile and (the) most vulnerable” without lifesaving supplies, aid chiefs insisted.
The Secretary-General continues to call for an immediate permanent ceasefire and the immediate and unconditional release of hostages in Gaza, said Haq.
Meanwhile, airstrikes and other attacks continue across the Strip, where Israel has blocked the entry of aid and commercial supplies for more than two months. Reports indicate that scores of people were killed and hundreds injured over the weekend, including children, the UN aid coordination office OCHA, said on Monday.
OCHA noted that robbery and looting have become a daily reality in the Strip, especially in and around Gaza City, which is occurring in parallel with the depletion of supplies.
Businesses are being targeted, and there have also been attempts against UN warehouses. In most cases, the looters were stopped by guards, or the warehouses were already empty.
