UN official says all Palestinians under Israeli siege in north Gaza at risk of death

A senior UN humanitarian official has said that the whole population of north Gaza, currently trapped by Israeli forces under heavy bombardment, is at risk of death.

"The entire population of northern Gaza is at risk of death. Israeli forces cannot be allowed to continue what they are doing in besieged northern Gaza," the Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator Joyce Msuya said in a statement.

Israel has besieged the area for over three weeks, killing at least 820 people and blocking off any water, food or humanitarian aid while preventing people from entering or exiting.

Israeli forces have stormed hospitals and medical facilities in the north, with displacement shelters also bombarded.

The New Arab’s Arabic language sister publication, Al Araby Al-Jadeed, reported that first responders have been prevented from rescuing people trapped under the rubble due to incessant bombardment.

"Families have been separated and men and boys are being taken away by the truckload" Msuya continued.

"Shelters have been emptied and burned down," she added.

Israeli forces bombed apartment buildings in the north Gaza town of Beit Lahia in the early hours of Sunday, issuing evacuation orders for residents but started bombing immediately, not giving people a chance to leave the area.

At least 45 people were killed while a further 20 were killed in airstrikes on Jabalia.

An official from the Red Cross also described the situation in north Gaza as "horrific".

Stephanie Eller, the head of the Red Cross delegation in north Gaza, said the evacuation orders and ongoing restrictions on the delivery of vital supplies have resulted in terrible conditions for the remaining civilians in north Gaza.

Eller also noted that Israeli forces’ actions in north Gaza could result in a greater loss of medical services in the area, while hospitals are already under huge strain.

Israeli forces left a trial of destruction in the Kamal Adwan Hospital on Friday and Saturday after storming it, arresting staff and patients, and trapping women in one of the hospital’s rooms.

Medical officials said at least 44 of the 70 members of staff in the hospital have been detained by the Israeli army. 

On Sunday, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed shock on the situation in the north, saying there has been "little regard for international humanitarian law".

Guterres called for an immediate ceasefire, stressing for the urgent need to protect humanitarian workers and first responders.

Nearly 43,000 people have been killed in the Gaza Strip since Israel's war began last year, with over 100,000 more injured, according to Gaza health ministry figures. The real death toll could be much higher, with many bodies trapped under rubble.

Israel has been widely accused of genocide and ethnic cleansing.