People search through the rubble of a house that was destroyed during an Israeli strike in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip, January 8, 2024. /CFP
The exchange of fire between Israeli forces and Hezbollah escalated Tuesday on the Israel-Lebanon border, with Israel claiming the killing of the Lebanese militant group's two senior commanders.
Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesperson Daniel Hagari admitted that Israel was behind the assassination of Ali Hussein Barji, a Hezbollah commander, in Lebanon earlier Tuesday, a day after it killed the senior commander of Hezbollah's elite Radwan forces, Wissam Hassan Tawil.
The confrontations between Hezbollah and Israel have killed 212 people on the Lebanese side, including 157 Hezbollah members and 35 civilians, according to Lebanese security sources.
UN Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations Jean-Pierre Lacroix on Tuesday voiced his concern over the ongoing escalation of confrontations in southern Lebanon and the region.
Meanwhile, the Israeli army said it was "expanding" its assaults in Khan Younis in southern Gaza, where at least 40 Palestinian militants were killed over the past day.
Despite international calls for the protection of civilians in Gaza, including by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who was on a visit to the Middle East, Israel said it would intensify strikes in southern Gaza.
The death toll in the Palestinian enclave has risen to 23,210 and approximately 2 million people have been displaced amid a severe humanitarian crisis, according to the Gaza-based health ministry.
Meanwhile, the IDF confirmed on Tuesday that at least nine Israeli soldiers were killed in a Gaza operation on Monday, bringing the total number of casualties among troops to 519, with 2,465 more injured.
A picture taken from the Israeli side of the Kerem Shalom border crossing with the southern Gaza Strip shows trucks carrying humanitarian aid queuing on the Egyptian side before entry to the Palestinian territory, December 22, 2023. /CFP
Humanitarian, medical situation turns 'dramatically bad'
The World Health Organization (WHO) warned of a humanitarian and health catastrophe in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday as humanitarian space and access to medical services continue to shrink.
Speaking at a UN weekly briefing via video link from Gaza, Sean Casey, WHO emergency medical teams coordinator, highlighted the "dramatically bad" situation in the entire Gaza Strip. The health system is collapsing rapidly, and there has been no letup in the intensity of conflict over the past weeks, he said.
"Hospitals are closing, patients are lacking access to health facilities, health workers are being forced to flee for their safety," Casey said.
The resolution adopted by the WHO Executive Board last month called for immediate, sustained and unimpeded passage of humanitarian relief in Gaza, but humanitarian access has become even more limited.
"Every day we line up our convoys, we wait for clearance and don't get it," Casey said. "And then we come back and we do it again the next day."
Speaking of children who had limbs amputated, Casey said the amputations were happening due to delayed access to care and the lack of resources at hospitals.
There was also a lack of surgeons and operating space. With the limited resources, Richard Peeperkorn, WHO representative in the occupied Palestinian territory, said the medical staff constantly had to make tough choices, including doing amputations that should have been unnecessary to save as many lives as possible.
(With input from Xinhua)