The U.N. agency serving Palestinians warned it would have to stop its life-saving operations in Gaza by tonight unless it receives more fuel. The humanitarian situation in Gaza has reached catastrophic levels, with hospitals shutting down and others cutting back critical services amid the lack of fuel and supplies. At the Indonesian Hospital in northern Gaza, staff have resorted to using smartphone lights to see in the darkness, as the hospital was forced to switch off power in all but a few parts of the building.
The nonstop Israeli bombardment of Gaza continues. On Tuesday, a father in Khan Younis carried the body of his young daughter in his arms after she was killed in an Israeli airstrike on their home.
Abdullah Teish: “I don’t want to let her go. This is my daughter. I want as much time with her as I have before we bury her. They wanted to cover her face, but I told them, ‘No, we do not cover the faces of martyrs.’ The martyr’s face is never covered. The martyr’s face is never covered.”
The Palestinian Health Ministry in Gaza says over 6,500 people have been killed since October 7. The 1.4 million internally displaced Gazans — representing over half its total population — are facing increasing rates of disease due to overcrowding, poor sanitation and lack of essentials like food and water.
Sojood Najm: “At night it’s cold, and there aren’t enough blankets for everyone. There is sand right beneath us. The children are all sick, some coughing. Some have runny noses. Some have fevers at night. Where are the rights of our children? Where are our human rights?”
