Palestinian men check the rubble of the al-Faruq mosque on February 22, 2024, following an overnight Israeli air strike in Rafah refugee camp in the southern Gaza Strip. (Photo by Said Khatib / AFP)
Doha, Qatar: World Health Organisation (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus addressing a press conference said that Gaza has become a death zone, with the situation continuing to deteriorate after more than four months of Israeli aggression.
Meanwhile the health ministry in Gaza said Thursday that at least 29,410 people have been killed in the Palestinian territory. The ministry statement added that a total of 97 people died in the past 24 hours, while another 69,465 have been wounded since October 7.
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[8pm Doha Time] The Gaza war has had a "catastrophic" impact on infrastructure and caused its economy to contract by more than 80 percent in the fourth quarter of the year, the World Bank said. The ongoing conflict has caused widespread damage and destruction across Gaza, and caused a "massive loss of life," the Bank said a statement.
Beyond the devastating human impact, "Almost all economic activity in Gaza has ground to a halt," the Bank said. Read more.
Displaced Palestinian children gather to receive food at a government school in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on February 19, 2024. (Photo by Mohammed Abed / AFP)
[1:15pm Doha Time] Iran says ICJ opinion can set ground for saving thousands of innocent people
Raza Najafi, Iran’s deputy foreign minister for legal and international affairs, says at the ICJ that “we remain at a turning point in the history” of humanity.
Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister for Legal and International Affairs Reza Najafi looks on during a hearing at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague on February 22, 2024. (Photo by Robin van Lonkhuijsen / ANP / AFP)
“The opinion of this court can set the ground for saving the lives of thousands of innocent women and children and contribute to the legitimate demand of the people deprived of their inherent right to self-determination,” he said.
Najafi then listed a series of measures that, he said, constitute the ongoing violation by the Israeli occupying regime:
- Prolonged occupation
- Altering demographic composition in the occupied territories
- Altering the character and the status of the Holy City
- Discriminatory measures
- Violations of the rights of Palestinian people to permanent sovereignty over their natural resources
[12:15pm Doha Time] Israeli minister says ‘our right to life overrides the Palestinians’ freedom of movement’
Israel’s Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir has said Palestinians’ freedom of movement should be restricted, following a shooting attack on a highway near the Maale Adumim settlement in the occupied West Bank.
“Our right to life overrides the Palestinians’ freedom of movement,” Ben-Gvir said, according to Israeli media reports. “I will fight for barriers around the villages that will limit the freedom of movement of the residents of the Palestinian Authority.”
[12:15pm Doha Time] Three killed, 8 wounded in shooting attack near Jerusalem
Al Jazeera reported that at least three people have been killed and at least eight wounded during a shooting attack near occupied East Jerusalem.
Israeli police say one officer was killed after three gunmen fired at cars stuck in traffic on a highway near the Maale Adumim settlement in the occupied West Bank. Israeli forces have killed two of the gunmen and the third has been arrested.
[11:30am Doha Time] Gaza’s north faces famine, south continues to be bombed
An intense bombing campaign across Rafah city stretched into the early hours of this morning.
In the last 45 minutes, loud explosions could be heard from the northern part of the city. The sound is coming from the systematic demolition of homes.
Overnight, we’re looking at attacks in the eastern part, the northern part and even the western part where literally hundreds of thousands of people have been sheltering.
A mosque nearby was destroyed completely, and we are looking at least three to four homes within its vicinity that have been severely damaged.
Another home was targeted and destroyed and five people were killed.
[10:30am Doha Time] Situation in Gaza is 'inhumane': WHO Director-General
Geneva: World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that the situation in the Gaza Strip is 'inhumane,' more than four months after the start of the Israeli aggression.
Ghebreyesus added at a press conference in Geneva: "What type of world do we live when people cannot get food and water, and when people who cannot even walk are unable to receive care"
"What type of world do we live in when health workers are at risk of being bombed as they carry out their life saving work and hospitals must close because there is no more power or medicines to help save patients" he continued.
Ghebreyesus considered "the health and humanitarian situation in Gaza is inhumane and continues to deteriorate."
"Gaza has become a death zone. Much of the territory has been destroyed, more than 29,000 people are dead, many more are missing presumed dead and many, many more are injured," he said.
WHO Director-General indicated that "severe malnutrition has shot up dramatically since the war started, from under 1% to more than 15% in some areas."
Ghebreyesus said "we need a ceasefire now!" adding "we need the bombs to stop dropping and we need unfettered humanitarian access. Humanity must prevail."
