U.N. Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacekeeping Affairs DiCarlo said Wednesday that the international community should do its utmost to prevent the escalation of violence between Palestinian militant groups in the Gaza Strip and Israel. She also urged all parties to the conflict to accept mediation efforts to jointly avoid a further deterioration of the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip.
DiCarlo said at a video conference of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Palestine that the United Nations has been actively involved in mediation and good offices since the outbreak of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The conflict has so far resulted in the death of more than 200 civilians, including children. If the conflict continues to escalate, the region will face “devastating consequences” and “humanitarian needs will soar, particularly in the Gaza Strip, where the situation is already critical”.
U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs spokesman Lak 18 at a press conference in Geneva, said that as of noon on the 17th, the conflict has led to more than 200 Palestinian deaths and more than 6,000 injured. The death toll on the Israeli side was 10, with nearly 800 injured. The conflict has also led to the flight of nearly 60,000 people from their homes and the refuge of some 47,000 people in schools run by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East.
The World Food Programme warned the same day that the crisis has put about 160,000 people in Gaza in food insecurity.
In addition, the United Nations expresses its concern about the deteriorating living conditions of the population of Gaza. As a result of the damage to the electricity grid, Gazans have only six to eight hours of electricity per day, affecting local health care and basic services such as water supply and sanitation.
