From the Liveblog of
Friday, October 27, 2023
‘Many more to die’ from Gaza siege, UN warns on day 21 of war
The UN warns that “many more will die” in Gaza from catastrophic shortages after nearly three weeks of bombardment by Israel in response to Hamas staging the deadliest attack in its history.
It also raises the alarm over alleged “war crimes” being committed as the deadly Israel-Hamas conflict rages.
“People in Gaza are dying, they are not only dying from bombs and strikes, soon many more will die from the consequences of (the) siege,” says Philippe Lazzarini, head of the UN’s agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA).
Israel has cut supplies of food, water and power to Gaza, notably blocking all deliveries of fuel saying it would be exploited by Hamas to manufacture weapons and explosives.
“Basic services are crumbling, medicine is running out, food and water are running out, the streets of Gaza have started overflowing with sewage,” Lazzarini says.
Israel has renewed water supplies to southern Gaza but says it will not consider other matters so long as Hamas holds over 220 hostages captured as it massacred Israeli communities on October 7.
