TPC Staff
The Palestine Chronicle / December 23, 2024
UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini condemned the situation, stating that Israel is violating all rules of war in Gaza.
The Israeli occupation forces have carried out a new massacre in the Al-Mawasi area previously labelled as “safe” west of Khan Yunis, in southern Gaza.
According to Al-Jazeera, Israeli drone strikes targeted tents sheltering displaced individuals in Al-Mawasi, killing eight Palestinians, including children, and injuring others.
Video footage captured flames consuming several tents, as Palestinians struggled to extinguish the fires with rudimentary means.
Another Israeli raid in the same area struck a car, resulting in two dead and multiple injuries.
Medical sources reported that Israeli attacks across Gaza have killed 50 Palestinians in the past 24 hours.
In northern Gaza, the bombardment of residential areas in Jabaliya camp and Beit Lahia continued, accompanied by heavy airstrikes and artillery fire throughout the night.
Al-Aqsa TV reported intense drone fire targeting homes in the Al-Zaytoun neighbourhood, Al-Nuzha Street, and near the Fishara roundabout in Jabaliya Al-Balad.
The occupation forces also targeted the Kamal Adwan Hospital in Beit Lahia.
Medical staff and patients trapped inside described severe shortages of basic necessities and warned of starvation.
They reported sheltering in dark corridors due to destroyed electricity generators, with unburied martyrs left inside for fear of ongoing bombings. Communication with hospital staff has reportedly been severed.
Dr. Marwan Al-Hamas, director of field hospitals for Gaza’s Health Ministry, called the hospital’s situation “dire,” citing an Israeli order to evacuate without providing safe transport for patients.
World Health Organization (WHO) spokesperson Margaret Harris urged an end to attacks on healthcare facilities and workers.
In an interview with Al-Jazeera on Sunday, she stated that the WHO’s efforts to deliver aid to Gaza have been blocked by Israeli authorities.
UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini also condemned the situation, stating that Israel is violating all rules of war in Gaza.
He highlighted the increasing normalization of attacks on schools and hospitals, calling for an immediate ceasefire in the region.
“Attacks on schools and hospitals have been commonplace. The world must not become numb. All wars have rules. All of those rules have been broken,” Lazzarini said in a post on X.
Ongoing genocide
Meanwhile, the Israeli genocide in the Gaza Strip continued with the death toll among starved and besieged Palestinian civilians rising daily.
Currently on trial before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) for genocide against Palestinians, Israel has been waging a devastating war on Gaza since October 7, 2023.
According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, 45,259 Palestinians have been killed, and 107,627 wounded in Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza starting on October 7, 2023.
Moreover, at least 11,000 people are unaccounted for, presumed dead under the rubble of their homes throughout the Strip.
Israel says that 1,200 soldiers and civilians were killed during the Al-Aqsa Flood Operation on October 7. However, Israeli media published reports suggesting that many Israelis were killed on that day by ‘friendly fire’.
Palestinian and international organizations say that the majority of those killed and wounded are women and children.
The Israeli war has resulted in an acute famine resulting in the death of many Palestinians, mostly children.
The Israeli aggression has also resulted in the forceful displacement of nearly two million people from all over the Gaza Strip, with the vast majority of the displaced forced into the densely crowded southern region.
