As Israel continues to wage its war with little to no intervention from allies, the Palestinian death toll has climbed to 11,078, including 4,506 children.
At least 101 United Nations employees have been killed in Israel’s indiscriminate aerial and ground war on Gaza, the UN Palestinian Refugee Agency (UNRWA) said on Friday, making it the deadliest conflict ever for the humanitarian organisation.
Speaking to news agency Reuters, UNRWA said some of their employees were killed while queuing for bread, while others died alongside their families in Israeli airstrikes on residential homes.
Philippe Lazzarini, the Commissioner-General of UNRWA, described the record deaths as devastating, though fell short of pinning the blame on Israel as the perpetrator of the attacks.
“Devastated. Over 100 UNRWA colleagues confirmed killed in 1 month. Parents, teachers, nurses, doctors, support staff. UNRWA is mourning, Palestinians mourning, Israelis mourning,” Lazzarini said on his social media channels.
On Saturday, the UNRWA chief called on leaders at the Arab-Islamic summit to demand a ceasefire as Gazans “feel dehumanised and abandoned.”
“I am sure that many of you can influence action on the ground. No effort should be spared”, Lazzarini told the summit.
“UNRWA is not only the largest UN agency in Gaza but also the last remaining lifeline for 2.2 million people. We can offer much more if we have the means,” Lazzarini added.
The UNRWA chief underlined the severity of conditions on the ground by recounting his trip to the Gaza Strip, where thousands have been killed and hundreds of thousands have been displaced due to Israel’s relentless bombing.
“Every little girl and boy I met in an UNRWA shelter asked me for bread and water. Children used to learn and laugh in the school I visited. Now, the school is an overcrowded shelter that lacks the minimum standards for a dignified life,’ Lazzarini said at the Arab-Islamic Summit in Riyadh.
In a situation report published by UNRWA, the agency said: “In the last 24 hours, UNRWA was able to verify and confirm that, in the last week of October, two additional staff members were killed due to strikes.
“One UNRWA staff member was injured while on duty in Khan Younis, when a strike hit a building near an UNRWA school where he was bringing supplies for the IDPs (internally displaced persons),” the report added.
The report continues to state that “nearly one-third of the UNRWA colleagues who were killed were below the Wadi Gaza line,” which is the southern and middle areas of the Gaza Strip, despite Israel claiming the south would be a safe zone for civilians.
The UNRWA further details that more than 500 internally displaced persons have been injured at the organisation’s facilities and dozens more were killed.
“To date, at least 558 IDPs sheltering in UNRWA facilities have been injured and 66 killed since 7 October. Of those, 23 of the IDPs killed and the majority of the IDPs injured (at least 400) were in installations south of Wadi Gaza,” the report added.
The report emphasises that several UNRWA installations have been damaged, several being in the Wadi Gaza area.
Arab summit issues collective condemning
The Arab-Islamic summit, hosted by Saudi Arabia, condemned Israeli aggression on Gaza and described the occupying forces’ actions in the besieged Strip as war crimes.
The gathering of Arab and Muslim leaders called for an end to the siege on Gaza to allow in much needed humanitarian aid. However, for the first time, the leaders also called on world powers to halt arms exports to Israel and demanded that the United Nations Security Council adopts “a decisive and binding resolution.”
As Israel continues to wage its war with little to no intervention from allies, the Palestinian death toll has climbed to 11,078, including 4,506 children.
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS), the kingdom’s de facto ruler, said his government hold Israeli authorities responsible for the crimes committed against the Palestinian people.
“We are certain that the only way to guarantee security, peace, and stability in the region is to end the occupation, siege, and the settlements,” MBS said of Israel’s actions in Gaza.
Making his first ever trip to Saudi Arabia, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi said Islamic countries should designate the Israeli army as a “terrorist organisation” for its conduct in Gaza.
Meanwhile, Qatar’s Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani spoke out against the international government’s failure to “shoulder its legal and moral responsibilities” to suspend the Gaza war.
“As our hearts break with pain at the sight of the mass killing of children, women, and the elderly, and the human suffering, we wonder how long will the international community continue to treat Israel as if it is above international law? And how long will it be condoned to flout all international laws in its brutal, never-ending war on the country’s indigenous population?” the Qatari leader said in his address.
“We have seen their immunity to the scenes of indiscriminate killing of Palestinian civilians, whether children or women, as well as the bombing of hospitals and shelters, no longer affecting them, and their levels of immunity have reached the point of seeing the bodies of innocent people being eaten by dogs, and these countries do not do anything,” Sheikh Tamim added.
The Qatari leader also spotlighted Doha’s role to mediate the release of civilian captives held in Gaza as part of wider de-escalation efforts to end the war.
“The State of Qatar is unflinching in its historical position in support of the steadfastness of the brotherly Palestinian people and their just cause,” the Qatar leader added.
