• Farhan Haq adds over 436,000 Gazans displaced 'in less than two months since the 18th of March' 

HAMILTON, Canada

The UN on Wednesday warned that hostilities in Gaza have intensified, with Israeli forces targeting the European Gaza Hospital in Khan Younis, further crippling the enclave's already devastated health care system.

Citing the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), UN spokesman Farhan Haq said at a news conference that "hostilities in Gaza intensified overnight, with an attack by Israeli forces on the European Gaza Hospital in Khan Younis."

"These attacks not only further degrade Gaza's already decimated health care system but also further traumatize patients and medical staff at these facilities," he said.

The World Health Organization has documented at least 686 attacks impacting health care in Gaza since October 2023, Haq noted. "Escalating (Israeli) military activities and increasing explosive ordnance contamination are hiding safety risks for civilians, including aid workers."

He emphasized the sharp surge in displacement in Gaza and said, "In less than two months since the 18th of March, more than 436,000 people are estimated to have been displaced to various areas of Gaza," with Israel's new evacuation orders in northern Gaza affecting eight neighborhoods.

Expressing the UN's readiness to aid and supply delivery, Haq announced that "humanitarian partners have pre-positioned more than 171,000 metric tons of food in the region, which are ready for delivery as soon as the blockade on the entry of supplies is lifted."

"This amount is enough to sustain the entire population of about 2.1 million people for up to four months," he added.

Israel has kept Gaza crossings closed to food, medical, and humanitarian aid since March 2, deepening an already humanitarian crisis in the enclave.

Severe restrictions on supplies by Israel have left more than 2 million Palestinians in desperate conditions, subjecting them to what international organizations describe as a deliberate act of collective punishment.

More than 52,900 Palestinians, primarily women and children, have been killed in Gaza during Israel's military offensive since October 2023.

The Israeli government justified its more than one-and-a-half-year military campaign by citing a Hamas attack on Oct. 7, 2023. Numerous human rights organizations, however, have condemned the Israeli offensive, describing it as a systematic campaign of ethnic cleansing. ​​​​​​​

Israel faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its actions in Gaza. The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants last November for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity.