Day 19 of the Gaza conflict comes on the heels of the deadliest 24 hours so far amid hospitals shutting down, while UN humanitarians reiterated urgent calls on Thursday for all civilians to be protected and hostages released.
Reports of an overnight Israeli military incursion using tanks in northern Gaza followed another series of calls by the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) for civilians in Gaza City to evacuate - warnings which "make no difference" because "people have nowhere to go or are unable to move", according to the UN's top humanitarian official in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Lynn Hastings.
'Nowhere is safe'
"When the evacuation routes are bombed, when people north as well as south are caught up in hostilities, when the essentials for survival are lacking, and when there are no assurances for return, people are left with nothing but impossible choices", she said, insisting that "nowhere is safe in Gaza".
Ms. Hastings appealed for the protection of civilians in armed conflict and reiterated calls for the immediate and unconditional release of the more than 220 people held captive by Hamas since the group's deadly incursion into Israel on 7 October.
That terror attack left more than 1,400 dead, drawing widespread and immediate condemnation from top UN officials including UN Secretary-General António Guterres.
Medical support for hostages: Tedros
Little is known about the status of the captives, and after meeting with some of their families on Wednesday UN health agency WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that "there is an urgent need for the captors of the hostages to provide signs of life, proof of provision of health care and the immediate release, on humanitarian and health grounds, of all those abducted".
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) should be granted immediate access to the hostages to understand their health status, and WHO stands ready to provide the ICRC with health support for the hostages, he said.
"I committed, on behalf of WHO, to do all we can to support the health and humanitarian needs of those being held captive," Tedros insisted.
Record death toll
Meanwhile the heaviest death toll yet from Gaza was reported on Wednesday by the Hamas-run Ministry of Health, which said that 756 were killed, including 344 children, bringing total fatalities in the territory to 6,547 since the start of Israel's retaliation for Hamas' attacks on 7 October.
With bombardments continuing, according to Gaza's de facto authorities, some 1,600 people including 900 children have been reported missing and may be under the rubble.
Bodies in tents
UN humanitarian affairs coordination office OCHA said that while visiting a hospital in Gaza, UN personnel saw hundreds of wounded men, women and children.
"Many of them were unconscious, with open wounds - lying on beds, stretchers and on the floor - with limited medical attendance," while tens of dead bodies were being kept in a tent in the yard because morgues are full, the UN office said.
The ongoing fuel blockade and lack of water, medical supplies and personnel are forcing hospitals to wind down operations, OCHA said. Humanitarians also warned that people were resorting to drinking saltwater which posed "immediate health risks".
As of Wednesday the UN World Food Programme (WFP) estimated that "current supplies of essential food in Gaza are sufficient for about 12 days".
