Gaza ‘hell on earth’ for children

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres yesterday described Gaza as "hell on earth" for children, appealing to Israel for rapid and unhindered aid access and telling the 193-member General Assembly he would launch an appeal for humanitarian funding. 

Diplomatic efforts toward a ceasefire in the Gaza war gathered pace yesterday amid a worsening humanitarian crisis in the Palestinian territory, but fighting between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas continued.

The 193-member UN General Assembly was scheduled to meet later yesterday to discuss the renewed violence, but no action was expected.

"If there is a hell on earth, it is the lives of children in Gaza today," said Guterres, adding that he would launch a full humanitarian appeal for funding as soon as possible.

"The hostilities have caused serious damage to vital civilian infrastructure in Gaza, including roads and electricity lines, contributing to a humanitarian emergency. Crossings into Gaza have been closed and power shortages are affecting water supplies," Guterres added.

Guterres called for an immediate ceasefire and urged Israel's military to exercise maximum restraint and Hamas to stop indiscriminate rocket fire. He also called on Israel to stop demolitions and evictions in the Palestinian Territories.

Hundreds of buildings and homes have been destroyed or damaged, Guterres said, and airstrikes have damaged several hospitals. Some 50,000 people were seeking shelter in UN schools, mosques and other places with little access to water, food, hygiene or health services, Guterres added.

The US mission to the United Nations on Wednesday expressed opposition to a French push for a Security Council resolution on the conflict. France has circulated a draft text to council members, diplomats said. The United States has traditionally shielded its ally Israel at the United Nations.

The French draft text, seen by Reuters, demands an immediate cessation of hostilities and condemns "the indiscriminate firing of rockets against civilian areas," without laying blame. It urges protection of civilians and revival of the peace process between Israel and the Palestinians with the aim of creating two states.

After a senior Hamas official predicted a truce within days, an Egyptian security source - whose country has been mediating between the sides - said they had agreed in principle to a mutual halt in hostilities but details needed to be worked out.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu scheduled a 7:00pm (1600 GMT) meeting of his security cabinet to discuss options.

Rocket attacks on Israel stopped for eight hours yesterday - the 11th day of hostilities - before resuming against communities near the Gaza border and the city of Beersheba.

Israel continued air strikes in Hamas-run Gaza, saying it wanted to destroy the Islamist militant group's capabilities and deter it from future confrontation after the current conflict.

"We're fully prepared to expand the campaign to whatever degree necessary. We're turning the clock back on Hamas and it won't be able to recover," Defence Minister Benny Gantz said.

Since the fighting began on May 10, health officials in Gaza say 232 Palestinians, including 65 children and 39 women, have been killed and more than 1,900 wounded in aerial bombardments. Israel says it has killed at least 160 combatants in Gaza.

Authorities put the death toll in Israel at 12, with hundreds of people treated for injuries in rocket attacks that have caused panic and sent people rushing into shelters.

Biden on Wednesday urged Netanyahu to seek "de-escalation" and a Hamas political official, Moussa Abu Marzouk, said he believed a ceasefire would be reached "within a day or two".

But asked on Israel's Kan public radio if a truce would begin today, Intelligence Minister Eli Cohen said: "No."

Qatar-based Al Jazeera television reported that UN Middle East peace envoy Tor Wennesland was meeting Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh in Qatar. A diplomatic source said Wennesland was in the Gulf nation as part of intensified UN efforts to restore calm in Gaza and Israel.

Israel carried out over a dozen air strikes on Gaza after midnight, targeting what it said was a weapons storage unit in the home of a Hamas official, and military infrastructure in the homes of other commanders from the group.

Hamas-run radio said a woman was killed and four children wounded in one attack on Khan Younis in southern Gaza. Witnesses said several main roads were also damaged in the air strikes.

One Israeli strike on Gaza on Wednesday killed a disabled man, his pregnant wife and their three-year-old child, the enclave's health ministry said.

"What did my brother do?" the man's bereaved brother Omar Saleha, 31, told AFP. "He was just sitting in his wheelchair".

Israel says it takes all steps to avoid civilian casualties, including by phoning residents to warn them of imminent strikes, and blames Hamas for placing weapons and military sites in densely populated areas.

Nearly 450 buildings in Gaza have been destroyed or badly damaged, including six hospitals and nine health centres, the United Nations humanitarian agency has said. More than 52,000 people have fled their homes in Gaza, which is blockaded by Israel and Egypt.

Israelis living in areas frequently targeted by rocket fire began their workday yesterday without the usual sound of warning sirens. But after an eight-hour break, the sirens blared again in southern Israel.

Israel said some 4,000 rockets have been launched at it from Gaza, some falling short and others shot down by its Iron Dome air defences.

Any ceasefire is unlikely to address the fundamental issues in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. An international peace process aimed at creating a Palestinian state free of Israeli occupation and guaranteeing Israel's security has been frozen since 2014.

The UN Human Rights Council said it will hold a special session on May 27 to address "the grave human rights situation" in the Palestinian territories, including East Jerusalem.

Hamas began firing rockets on May 10 in retaliation for what it called Israeli rights abuses against Palestinians in Jerusalem during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

The rocket attacks followed Israeli police clashes with worshippers at al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem and efforts by Israeli settlers to evict Palestinians from a neighbourhood in Israeli-annexed East Jerusalem.

The hostilities are the most serious between Hamas and Israel in years and have helped fuel street violence in Israeli cities between Jews and Arabs.

The conflict has also stoked violence in the West Bank, where Palestinian officials said at least 25 Palestinians have been killed in clashes with Israeli troops or other incidents since May 10.