90% of Gaza’s population displaced by Israeli onslaughts: UN refugee agency
Ankara, Turkey - Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip have displaced more than 90 per cent of the territory’s population, the UN Palestinian refugee agency said on Wednesday.
“Over 60 per cent of the infrastructure in Gaza has been destroyed or damaged,” the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) said in a statement. “This is a staggering and unprecedented level of destruction and forced displacement, taking place in front of our eyes,” it added.
Israel has bombarded the Gaza Strip from the air and land, imposed a siege and mounted a ground offensive in retaliation for a cross-border attack by the Palestinian resistance group, Hamas, on October 7.
At least 19,667 people have been killed and 52,586 others injured ever since, according to health authorities in the enclave.
Nearly 1,200 Israelis are believed to have been killed in the Hamas attack, while more than 130 hostages remain in captivity.
‘External forces’
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Wednesday that some ‘ external forces’ are attempting to fan a fire of regional discord between Middle Eastern states by exploiting the situation in Gaza.
The purpose of such actions is to ‘weaken countries that pursue an independent foreign policy course’, Lavrov said at the Russian-arab Cooperation Forum in
Morocco’s capital, Marrakesh.
“Some external forces want to use the current escalation of the Palestinian-israeli conflict to their advantage, to ignite a fire of regional discord,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said, quoting the country’s top diplomat.
Russia sees a cease-fire and increased humanitarian efforts in
Gaza as top priorities as ‘violence has taken an unprecedented and truly catastrophic scale’, he said.
“The number of dead and injured is in the tens of thousands, most of them civilians in the Gaza Strip, primarily children and women. The suffering of the enclave’s population is compounded by the consequences of the Israeli blockade,” he said.
According to the minister, Russia is continuing to make efforts to bring the Palestinian-israeli conflict into a diplomatic channel in coordination with its Arab counterparts.
“Russia’s principled position coincides with the line of the Arab countries, which reaffirmed their commitment to resolving the crisis based on a generally recognised international legal framework during the summit of the League of Arab States and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation in Riyadh on November 11,” he said.
Lavrov believed that violence in the region would continue until the establishment of a Palestinian state within the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital.
He asserted that creating a collective diplomatic mechanism to assist parties would help resolve key issues, including the restoration of Palestinian unity.
The Russian-arab Cooperation Forum between Russia and the League of Arab States was founded in 2009 to enhance economic cooperation.
Cameron to visit Jordan, Egypt
British Foreign Secretary David Cameron will visit Jordan and Egypt this week to push for a sustainable cease-fire and further humanitarian pauses in Gaza.
On his second visit to the region, Cameron will travel to the two countries alongside Minister for the Middle East Lord Ahmad, according to a Foreign Office statement on Wednesday.
The foreign secretary will discuss the urgent need for ‘a sustainable ceasefire’ involving the release of hostages and an end to rocket fire into Israel.
“No one wants to see this conflict go on for a moment longer than necessary. But for a ceasefire to work, it needs to be sustainable,” said Cameron, who was in Paris and Rome on Tuesday, ahead of his visit.
“If Israel is still facing Hamas in Gaza with rockets and terror tactics, not only will a ceasefire not be sustainable, a two-state solution in the longer term will also not be possible,” he added.
This comes after a recent policy change from the British government, which had rejected to make any call for a cease-fire, reiterating that Israel had a ‘right to defend itself’.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak had earlier said a ‘ sustainable ceasefire’ is needed in Gaza as ‘too many lives have been lost’ under Israeli bombardments.
Over 60 per cent of infrastructure in Gaza has been destroyed or damaged, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) said in a statement