UN Calls Gaza City Situation 'Cataclysmic' as Israeli Tanks Advance
Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians have fled south as Israeli tanks press into Gaza City, the territory's largest urban area.
The UN describes Gaza City’s situation as “nothing short of cataclysmic” as Israeli forces press a ground offensive on the third day.
Olga Cherevko, spokeswoman for the UN humanitarian office, witnessed waves of Palestinians fleeing south, though hundreds of thousands remain in the city. The WHO warns that hospitals, overwhelmed and cut off from supplies, are on the brink of collapse.
Israel’s military says its troops are dismantling Hamas’s infrastructure, aiming to free hostages and defeat fighters in Gaza City, which it describes as the group’s main stronghold. The offensive has been widely condemned internationally, with one million residents previously confirmed by the UN to be facing famine conditions.
Since mid-August, UN agencies have recorded over 200,000 people moving from northern to southern Gaza, with 55,000 crossing in the past few days alone. Cherevko, returning to Gaza City on a 14-hour round trip, reported relentless strikes near her convoy amid crowded streets of civilians.
Witnesses said Israeli tanks were seen in the northern Sheikh Radwan and southern Tal al-Hawa neighbourhoods, where remotely detonated vehicles laden with explosives reportedly destroyed numerous homes. Local hospitals reported at least 14 deaths from Israeli fire across Gaza on Thursday.
Lt Gen Eyal Zamir, chief of staff of the Israeli military, urged troops to intensify operations against the Gaza City brigade to secure hostages’ release and dismantle Hamas’s capabilities. However, many civilians cannot afford transport to the designated humanitarian zone in the south, forcing families to walk with few possessions and often no shelter on arrival.
The WHO chief, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said the offensive is pushing traumatised families into an area unfit for human dignity, with severely injured and disabled people unable to move to safety. Of Gaza’s 17 partially functional hospitals, ten are in Gaza City, and occupancy rates exceed 180%, with some at 300% capacity.
Al-Rantisi Children’s Hospital suffered three strikes, damaging water, power and communication systems; 40 patients escaped while 40, including critically ill children, remain inside. The UN Population Fund warned that women are giving birth in the streets without access to medical care.
Israel launched the campaign after Hamas’s 7 October attack on southern Israel, which killed about 1,200 people and took 251 hostages. Gaza’s health ministry reports at least 65,141 deaths from Israeli strikes and 435 additional deaths from malnutrition and starvation during the conflict.
Hundreds of thousands of civilians are displaced and facing dire humanitarian conditions as Israeli forces advance into Gaza City, with hospitals overwhelmed and basic services collapsing.
This topic was reported by BBC News.
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