Israeli restrictions hindering Gaza flood preparedness: UN
The spokesperson for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has criticised Israeli restrictions on supplies going into Gaza as heavy rains again bear down on the enclave.
Despite the UN providing tents, tarpaulins, blankets and winter clothes, more lasting preparedness for shelters and floods remains impossible, Stephane Dujarric told reporters.
“You will recall that a major impediment to shelter response is the restrictive registration requirements for NGOs imposed by the Israeli authorities,” Dujarric told reporters in a daily briefing.
“Many of our NGO partners remain blocked from bringing in relief, and nearly 4,000 pallets of shelter materials have been rejected by Israeli authorities,” he said.
“Gaza urgently needs heavy machinery, tools and many more shelter items to prevent catastrophic flooding,” he said.
Israeli army continues offensive activities in the Gaza Strip
Our colleagues on the ground in Gaza report that the Israeli army has launched an air strike and carried out artillery shelling on parts of Khan Younis that it currently controls. There have been no reports of casualties so far.
Elsewhere, in northern Gaza, the army carried out more building demolitions in Beit Lahiya.
As we reported earlier, Hamas said that there would be no movement towards the second phase of the ceasefire in Gaza as long as Israel continued what it termed “violations” of the agreement.
The truce is now 60 days old, but Israeli attacks and other actions like these continue daily.
Palestinian Civil Defence recovers 15 more bodies from al-Shifa Hospital
The Palestinian Civil Defence has recovered the bodies of 15 Palestinians from the courtyard of al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City. Today’s work brings the total number of bodies recovered from Gaza’s largest medical facility to 113.
“Several bodies remain missing on the hospital grounds, as work is still ongoing to retrieve them,” the agency said. It added that four of the bodies had not been identified.
Gaza’s Government Media Office said it had discovered a mass grave at the hospital in May 2024, calling it “part of the genocide and crime committed by the Israeli army inside the Shifa Medical Complex”.
