(Canadian Press)

By Associated Press

Dire humanitarian conditions in Gaza grow worse as Israel widens its offensive

Dec 6, 2023 | 8:52 AM

Israel’s widening air and ground offensive in southern Gaza has displaced tens of thousands more Palestinians and worsened the territory’s dire humanitarian conditions.

The fighting is preventing distribution of food, water and medicine outside a tiny sliver of southern Gaza and new military evacuation orders squeezing people into ever-smaller areas of the south.

The United Nations said 1.87 million people more than 80 per cent of Gaza’s population have been driven from their homes since the start of the Israel-Hamas war, triggered by the deadly Oct. 7 Hamas assault on southern Israel.

The U.N. also says that all telecom services have been shut down due to cuts in the main fiber routes.

On Tuesday, Israel’s military entered Khan Younis, Gaza’s second-largest city, in its pursuit to wipe out the territory’s Hamas rulers.

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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says the military must retain open-ended security control over the Gaza Strip long after the war ends.

Around 1,200 people have died on the Israeli side, mainly civilians killed during Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack.

The Health Ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said the death toll in the territory has surpassed 16,200, with more than 42,000 wounded.

The ministry does not differentiate between civilian and combatant deaths, but said 70 per cent of the dead were women and children.