Israel UN calls for protection for civilians in Gaza City

In view of the Israeli army's evacuation call for the embattled city of Gaza, the United Nations is calling for the unconditional protection of the civilian population. "These civilians must be protected and their essential needs must be addressed, whether they flee or stay," said the Geneva-based UN emergency relief agency OCHA. All parties involved in the Gaza conflict must respect international humanitarian law at all times, said UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric in New York. The extent of the fighting and destruction in recent days during the ongoing negotiations on a ceasefire was "truly shocking".

The calls to flee are usually a sign of imminent new Israeli military operations. Israeli media and local residents had reported that the army had distributed leaflets in the city of Gaza on Wednesday calling on people to leave the affected areas. According to residents, the majority of those affected are refusing to leave the areas.

Israeli troops had already fought in the city in the north of the Gaza Strip at the beginning of the war. In the meantime, Islamist Hamas fighters are trying to regroup there and elsewhere. The city has been hardest hit by the massive devastation caused by the war.

Impact on humanitarian aid

OCHA warned that such "evacuation orders" have repeatedly had a negative impact on humanitarian aid for the people in the Gaza Strip. The office expressed fears that the order "will only exacerbate mass suffering for Palestinian families, many of whom have already been displaced many times".

The intensified fighting in Gaza City had led to the "largest evacuation since October", the World Food Program (WFP) said on X. The kitchens supported by the UN organization are often the only source of food for families. However, the unpredictable situation in the area is limiting aid.

General situation

According to Dujarric, the UN Coordinator for Humanitarian Aid in the Palestinian Territories, Muhannad Hadi, briefed UN Secretary-General António Guterres on the situation in the Gaza Strip on Wednesday. Hadi had previously visited the war zone again. Hadi was quoted as saying that he had "seen first-hand the consequences of the collapse of public order and security when he entered and left Gaza via the Kerem Shalom border crossing".

He said he had seen groups of men waiting for trucks to enter the coastal area via Kerem Shalom in the south. All the trucks were badly damaged, "with smashed windscreens, mirrors and hoods". Sacks of enriched flour from the WFP and the Palestinian relief organization UNRWA were scattered along the roadside. Hadi had also seen that the city of Chan Junis had been largely destroyed.

Throughout the Gaza Strip, hundreds of thousands of people have had to leave their homes and apartments due to the fighting between the Israeli military and the Islamist Hamas. The Gaza war was triggered by the unprecedented massacre of more than 1,200 people killed by terrorists from Hamas and other extremist groups in Israel on October 7, 2023. According to the Hamas-controlled health authority, more than 38,000 people have been killed in Gaza since the start of the war. The figure, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants, cannot currently be independently verified.

Fighting in Gaza City overshadows negotiations

The resumption of fierce fighting in the north of the Gaza Strip is also overshadowing the indirect negotiations on a ceasefire. This also involves the release of hostages held by Hamas in exchange for Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails. The latest round of talks in the Qatari capital Doha is seen as crucial in determining whether an agreement can be reached between Hamas and Israel. After weeks of deadlock, there have recently been signs of progress in the difficult negotiations.

Hamas had previously demanded an end to the war as a precondition for a hostage deal. However, the Israeli government under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is not prepared to do so. The USA, Egypt and Qatar are mediating between the warring parties.

USA wants to deliver heavy bombs to Israel again

According to reports in the "Wall Street Journal", the USA wants to deliver 500-pound bombs to Israel again soon, which the government of President Joe Biden suspended a few weeks ago. The bombs could be transported to Israel in the coming weeks, according to reports citing US government officials. "Heavier 2,000-pound bombs that were intended as part of the same shipment will continue to be withheld."

The US had halted the delivery of heavy bombs in order to persuade Israel's military to spare civilians during the offensive in the city of Rafah in the south of the Gaza Strip. At the end of June, following talks in Washington, the Israeli defense minister declared that the obstacles to the supply of ammunition had been removed.