US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that the entire population of the Gaza Strip is in dire need of humanitarian assistance.
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“According to the most respected estimates, 100 percent of Gaza’s population is severely food insecure and their security is at serious risk. This is the first time that an entire population has been classified this way… 100 percent, the entire population, is in need of humanitarian assistance. Compare these figures with Sudan , where 80 percent of the population needs humanitarian assistance, and Afghanistan, where about 70 percent need it,” Blinken said during a press conference in Manila after talks with Philippine Foreign Minister Enrique Manalo.
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On October 7, Israel was subjected to an unprecedented-scale rocket attack from the Gaza Strip as part of Operation Al-Aqsa Flood, announced by the military wing of the Palestinian Hamas movement.
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After this, the organization’s fighters entered the border areas in southern Israel, where they opened fire on both military and civilians, and also took more than 200 hostages. In Israel, according to the latest data from the authorities, about 1.2 thousand people were killed, this number includes civilians, soldiers, foreign citizens and workers, and it was also reported that more than 5 thousand were injured.
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In response, the Israel Defense Forces launched Operation Iron Swords against Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Within a few days, the Israeli military took control of all populated areas near the border with Gaza and began carrying out air strikes on targets, including civilians, in the strip. Israel also announced a complete blockade of the Gaza Strip: the supply of water, food, electricity, medicine, and fuel was stopped. At the end of October, the ground phase of the Israeli operation in the enclave began. Gaza City was surrounded by Israeli ground forces, and the enclave was effectively divided into southern and northern parts.
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The death toll from Israeli strikes on the Gaza Strip exceeded 31.5 thousand people, more than 73.5 thousand were injured, the Gaza Ministry of Health reported.
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Hamas claimed that there were about 200-250 hostages in the Gaza Strip. After the end of the truce, Israeli authorities announced that 126 Israelis and 11 foreigners remained hostage with Hamas, and 110 abducted were released.
