UN Secretary-General António Guterres has made grave warnings, cautioning that without intervention, Israel could commit the “ethnic cleansing” of Gaza.
Guterres’ warning comes amid an increasing toll in Gaza. Most recently, on Tuesday, a deadly strike in Beit Lahiya left 93 dead, including dozens of children.
The attack is one of several incidents classified by the UN as “mass casualty incidents” in Gaza within the last week.
The bombardment in Beit Lahiya has been widely condemned, with the US describing it as “horrifying,” and France called for an end to Israel’s siege of northern Gaza.
Meanwhile, deliveries of humanitarian aid reportedly have reached an all-time low since the conflict began, feeding fears and allegations that what is happening could be a ploy to force Palestinians to leave northern Gaza.
Speaking on the sidelines of the Colombia COP16 biodiversity conference to the Guardian, the UN chief saluted the Palestinians for their resilience.
It said that “ethnic cleansing” has been prevented this long because the people refused to succumb.
“The intention might be that the Palestinians should leave Gaza, that others should occupy it,” said Guterres.
“We will do everything possible to help them remain there and to avoid ethnic cleansing that might occur if there is not strong determination from the international community,” he added.
But just last week, Jordan’s Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi told US Secretary of State Antony Blinken he believed “ethnic cleansing” was already underway. The Israeli military has denied accusations it is systematically forcing Palestinians out of Gaza.
The health systems in Gaza have nearly collapsed, with only two functional hospitals remaining due to extreme shortages of staff, supplies, and fuel.
The UN humanitarian affairs agency, OCHA, said in a daily bulletin: “Only two … out of 20 health service points and two hospitals, Kamal Adwan and Al-Awda, remain functional, although partially, hampering the delivery of life-saving health services.”
