A senior United Nations official has warned the UN Security Council (UNSC) that Israel’s plan to seize Gaza City risked “another calamity” in the Gaza Strip with far-reaching consequences.
This is coming after a report that five more people in Gaza died from starvation – bringing the overall toll to 217, including 100 children.
UN Assistant Secretary-General for Europe, Central Asia and the Americas Miroslav Jenca on Sunday told an emergency weekend meeting that if implemented, the plan could result in the displacement of all civilians from Gaza City by October 7, 2025, affecting some 800,000 people, many of them already previously displaced.
This “will likely trigger another calamity in Gaza, reverberating across the region and causing further forced displacement, killings and destruction, compounding the unbearable suffering of the population,” Jenca said.
Polls suggest most of the Israeli public favour a deal with Hamas for the release of the hostages and the end of the war.
On the other hand, relatives of Israeli hostages seized on October 7 rallied Sunday with supporters in London, demanding their release and criticising the UK government’s decision to potentially recognise a Palestinian state next month.
Organisers of Stop the Hate UK and several Jewish organisations said the march and rally at Downing Street was, in part, aimed at urging Prime Minister Keir Starmer to prioritise the release of the remaining hostages.
Out of 251 hostages captured during militant group Hamas’s 2023 attack, 49 are still being held in Gaza, including 27, the Israeli military says, are dead.
It comes after Starmer announced on July 30 that the UK will formally recognise the State of Palestine in September unless Israel takes various “substantive steps”, including agreeing to a ceasefire in Gaza.
The UK leader also detailed several demands for Hamas, including releasing all the hostages, but has not said that that is a precondition for the UK recognition step.
Israel has condemned the UK’s announcement and earlier this week said it intends to launch a new offensive in the territory to control Gaza City.
Hostages’ family members have also criticised the UK move, in particular the apparent decision not to make Palestinian statehood recognition conditional on their release.
Noga Guttman, the cousin of 24-year-old hostage Evyatar David, was among the hundreds to attend Sunday’s London event, according to organisers.
DAILY TRUST.
