A “cataclysmic” situation in the city of Gaza, says UN employee, while Israeli tanks progress

The situation in Gaza is “nothing but cataclysmic,” a UN official told the BBC, as Israeli tanks and troops continue to progress on the third day of the ground offensive.

Olga Cherevko, a spokesman for the UN Humanitarian Office, said she saw a steady stream of Palestinians heading south during a recent visit to the city, but hundreds of thousands remained.

The World Health Organization (WHO) warned that the prevailing hospitals were on the verge of collapse as it was prevented from delivering rescue stocks.

The Israeli military said its forces “dismantled terrorist infrastructure and eliminated terrorists” in Gaza.

She said his goals were to release the hostages, who still hold Hamas and beat up to 3,000 fighters in what he described as the “main fortress” of the group.

However, the offensive in the largest city area of ​​Gaza, where one million people lived last month, and the hunger was confirmed last month, attracted a wide international condemnation.

The UN and its humanitarian partners have recorded at least 200,000 people passing from North to South Gaza since mid-August, when Israel announced its intention to conquer Gaza. About 55,000 have made Sunday’s trip.

Cherevko, who works for the UN Humanitarian Office in the central city of Deir Al Balah, told the BBC that she had traveled to Gaza city two days ago-round trip 29 km (18 miles), which took 14 hours.

“Things there and the scenes on the way to Gaza are nothing but cataclysmic,” she recalls.

“A steady stream of people (Ca) passing from north to south, very walking. Inside the city of Gaza, it is still very overcrowded because there are hundreds of thousands of civilians left there.”

She said she also witnessed many Israeli strikes “very close” to the UN convoy while in the city of Gaza, adding, “It was really just a constant blow after the impact while we were there.”

On Thursday morning, witnesses told Reuters news agency that they had seen Israeli tanks in the northern sheikh Radvan and the southern Tal al-Hava neighborhood, which in recent days have fallen under heavy bombing.

They also reported that the forces of Israel have blown up remotely driven vehicles loaded with explosives in both areas, destroying many houses.

Local hospitals said at least 14 people were killed by an Israeli fire through the Gaza Strip on Thursday, including nine in Gaza.

The Israeli military said in a statement that his troops were “expanding” their operations in the city without giving any details about their movements.

At the beginning of the attack on Earth on Tuesday, the chief of the military staff, Lieutenant Eial Zamir, told the troops to “strengthen the blows against Hamas and to decide the brigade of the city of Gaza to fulfill the most moral and important obligation – the return of all hostages at home and the dismantling of the launchers and the forestry of

Cherevko warned that many people were unable to comply with the Israeli military’s order to evacuate to his designated “humanitarian zone” to the south.

“The cost of moving your belongings, if you are lucky enough to find a vehicle that will move them is excessive. It is not accessible to many people. And so many do this on foot, with a barely mattress in their hands and maybe a plastic bag.”

And after they arrived, there was no guarantees of shelter or safety, she added.

“I spoke with many people who recently arrived in Deir Al Balah and (the southern city of) Khan Eunice. Many sit on the side of the street without anything. They have no shelter. They do not know where to go.

“Yesterday I met a family who was walking for four days, trying to find a place to sleep and they failed,” she said.

The head of the WHO, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Gebrees, said the Israeli offensive “forced traumatized families into an increasingly pronounced area unfit for human dignity.”

“The wounded and people with disabilities cannot move to safety, which puts their lives in serious danger,” he wrote to X.

“Hospitals that are already overwhelmed are on the verge of collapsing, as escalation of access to violence blocks access and prevent () to deliver rescue stocks.”

The UN says there are currently about 1790 hospital beds for 2.1 million Gaza population, leading to employment from 180 to 300% in 17 hospitals that remain partially functional throughout the territory.

Ten of these hospitals are in Gaza, and one is elsewhere in North Gaza.

On Tuesday, the Children’s Hospital in Al -Rentii in Gaza – the only specialized pediatric hospital left on the territory – was affected by three Israeli strokes, causing damage to the roof tanks, electrical and communication systems and some medical equipment, according to Hamas Health Ministry in Gaza.

Forty patients fled for safety after attack, while 40 others, including four children in intensive care and eight newborn babies, remain inside.

The Israeli military has not yet commented.

Meanwhile, the UN population has warned that women are forced to give birth on the streets without hospitals, doctors or clean water.

The Israeli military launched a campaign in Gaza in response to an attack led by Hamas against southern Israel on October 7, 2023, which killed about 1,200 people and 251 others were hostage.

At least 65 141 people have been killed in Israeli attacks in Gaza since then, according to the health ministry in the territory.

The ministry says another 435 people have died during the war as a result of malnutrition and hunger, including four in the last 24 hours.