The Israeli army continues to advance on the Gaza Strip, launching regular air and artillery strikes without the slightest sign of abatement amid a growing humanitarian catastrophe and the looming threat of the war spreading to the entire region.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged to “continue [the war] until victory,” saying in a televised address late Saturday that “it is possible and necessary.” He claimed:
“No one will stop us – not The Hague, not the Axis of Evil and no one else.”
The Prime Minister was referring to a case that South Africa filed with the International Court of Justice demanding emergency measures to stop Israel’s war and citing “axis of resistance” groups in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Yemen linked to Iran.
The United Nations estimates that 1.9 million people, almost 85 per cent of the population, have been internally displaced. More than 90 per cent are severely food insecure. The UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) said on Sunday:
“The massive destruction, displacement, hunger and loss of last 100 days are staining our shared humanity. The humanitarian operation has become one of the most complex & challenging in the world.”
Palestine’s foreign ministry said that in 100 days, “the Israeli occupation has turned Gaza into an uninhabitable place, committed horrific crimes”. It added that “the international community was “again failing” to implement international resolutions related to the Palestinian cause.
At least 23,968 people in Gaza, mostly women and children, have been killed since the war began on October 7, after Hamas fighters carried out an assault on southern Israel that killed 1,139 there. Israel said about 240 people were also taken captive.
