THE United Nations said on Saturday the Gaza war was “staining humanity” on the eve of its 100th day as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu doubled down on vows to defeat Hamas.
The devastating conflict has unleashed a humanitarian crisis in Gaza and fears of a regional escalation intensified after US and British forces struck pro-Hamas Houthi rebels in Yemen on Friday following attacks on Red Sea shipping.
Israel vowed to destroy Gaza’s rulers and launched a relentless bombardment that has killed at least 23,843 people, mostly women and children, according to the latest toll from the territory’s health ministry.
An Israeli siege has sparked acute shortages of food, water, medicine and fuel in Gaza, where the health system is collapsing.
Visiting the Gaza Strip, the head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, Philippe Lazzarini, said “the massive death, destruction, displacement, hunger, loss and grief of the last 100 days are staining our shared humanity.”
An entire generation of children in Gaza were being “traumatized,” diseases were spreading and the clock is “ticking fast toward famine,” he warned.
The Hague-based International Court of Justice this week heard arguments in a case launched by South Africa — and welcomed by Gazans — accusing Israel of breaching the UN Genocide Convention.
The case seeks a halt to the military campaign, which Israel stressed to the court was in self-defense and not aimed at Palestinian residents.
But Netanyahu insisted no court or military foe could stop Israel from achieving its aim of destroying Hamas.
“No one will stop us — not The Hague, not the Axis of Evil and no one else,” he told a televised press conference, referring to the Iran-aligned “axis of resistance” groups in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Yemen.
“It is possible and necessary to continue until victory and we will do it,” he added, saying most Hamas battalions in Gaza had been “eliminated.”
