UN on Wednesday said it was trying to get the "minimal" aid that has entered Gaza this week into the hands of Palestinians, as Israeli military restrictions have made it extremely difficult for the aid workers to function. Meanwhile, Israel conducted airstrikes across Gaza as part of its intensified genocidal operations, killing at least 82 Palestinains, including children.
UN's humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher on Tuesday said that over 14,000 children could die in Gaza in the next 48 hours if sufficient aid did not reach them in time.
Calling the figure "utterly chilling," Fletcher said that he "wants to save as many as these 14,000 babies as we can in the next 48 hours.”
Gaza’s Government Media Office (GMO) had earlier this month said that nearly 2,90,000 children in Gaza are on the brink of death due to Israel's blockade of humanitarian aid.
At least 57 Palestinians have so far starved to death in Gaza, causing international outrage against Israel's alleged weaponisation of starvation, which amounts to a war crime.
Addressing the media on Wednesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said all of Gaza will be under Israel's control by the end of its assault on the territory.
Highlighting the move to allow "basic" aid into Gaza, after a three-month-long blockade of humanitarian assistance that has forced the entire population into a famine-like situation, Netanyahu said, “We must avoid a humanitarian crisis in order to preserve our freedom of operational action.”
Former prime minister of Israel, Ehud Olmert had earlier today called Israel's genocidal war "politically driven" and slammed Israelis for committing "war crimes" in the occupied West Bank.
“A political war that has no purpose will not return a single hostage and will also involve the loss of the lives of brave soldiers,” he said.
Netanyahu's press conference came as countries including France and Italy slammed Israel for firing at a group of international diplomats who was visiting Jenin in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
"A visit to Jenin, which one of our diplomats was taking part in, was fired upon by Israeli soldiers. It’s unacceptable. The Israeli ambassador will be summoned to explain. Full support to our representatives on the ground and their remarkable work in challenging conditions," French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot wrote on X.
The Israeli military said their visit had been approved, but the delegation “deviated from the approved route.”
Footage showed a number of diplomats giving media interviews as rapid shots ring out nearby, forcing them to run for cover.
At the time, the delegation of about 20 regional, European and Western diplomats was near the entrance of the Jenin refugee camp being briefed by Palestinian Authority officials about the humanitarian situation, said an aid worker who was present.
Israel's 19-month-long genocidal war on Gaza has so far killed over 53,339 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and wounded at least 121,034. According to the Government Media Office in Gaza, the updated death toll stands at 61,700, as thousands of people missing under the rubble are presumed dead.
