A coalition of major humanitarian organizations on Wednesday called on the international community to take stronger steps to stop Israel’s assault on Gaza City, after a UN commission concluded that Israel is committing genocide in the enclave.
Israel, meanwhile, pressed ahead with its offensive in the war-ravaged north as the death toll in Gaza approached 65,000.
“What we are witnessing in Gaza is not only an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe, but what the UN Commission of Inquiry has now concluded is a genocide,” the aid groups said in a joint statement. “States must use every available political, economic, and legal tool at their disposal to intervene. Rhetoric and half measures are not enough. This moment demands decisive action.”
More than 20 organizations, including the Norwegian Refugee Council, Anera and Save the Children, signed the appeal.
The statement came a day after Israel declared its full-scale operation in Gaza City was underway, vowing to subdue a city already shattered by nearly two years of war.
UN inquiry accuses Israel of genocide in Gaza, urges international action
Hospital officials said Israeli strikes overnight killed at least 16 Palestinians, including women and children. A mother and child were among those killed in the Shati refugee camp, while other strikes hit the Nuseirat camp and Muwasi area, killing families, including a pregnant woman.
Gaza’s Health Ministry said over 64,900 Palestinians have been killed since the war began, with women and children making up about half the deaths.
Israel on Wednesday opened a new evacuation route south via Salah al-Din street, while Qatar strongly condemned the offensive, calling it an “extension of the war of genocide.”
The Israeli military estimates 2,000–3,000 Hamas fighters remain in Gaza City. Hamas has shifted to guerrilla tactics after heavy losses.
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The conflict erupted when Hamas-led militants stormed southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and abducting 251. Forty-eight hostages are still held in Gaza, fewer than half believed alive.
Source: Agency