UNRWA chief warns 'no one is safe' in Gaza as Israeli massacres soar

 Nearly a dozen UN buildings have been bombed by Israel in the past several days, as Tel Aviv escalates its campaign of airstrikes ahead of a planned assault to seize and occupy Gaza City. 

“No place is safe in Gaza. No one is safe,” said UNRWA Commissioner General Phillipe Lazzarini.

“Airstrikes in Gaza City and the north are intensifying. More and more people are forced to leave, disoriented and uncertain, heading into the unknown. In the past four days alone, 10 UNRWA buildings have been hit in Gaza City. This includes seven schools and two clinics currently used as shelters for thousands of displaced people,” he added. 

“We were forced to stop health care in Beach Camp, the only health care available north of Wadi Gaza. Our vital water and sanitation services are now only at half capacity,” he went on to say. 

The Israeli army has been launching some of its heaviest airstrikes on the Gaza Strip since the start of its genocidal war in October 2023.

Tel Aviv's massive escalation of strikes on Gaza City aims to wipe out infrastructure and pave the way for the upcoming assault.

Tens of thousands of Palestinians have been displaced from Gaza City so far, as Israeli troops operate on its outskirts under heavy air cover. The army continues to blow up civilian homes and bomb residential towers, which it claims are housing Hamas fighters. 

While many have said they will not leave, Israel has announced plans to displace the entirety of Gaza City’s population – estimated at around 800,000. 

Many of those fleeing end up at the coastal Al-Mawasi area further south. The Israeli army had once labeled the area a “humanitarian zone,” but continued to bomb it throughout the war. 

At least 25 Palestinians, among them children, have been killed since dawn on 15 September.

UNICEF’s Tess Ingram, reporting from Al-Mawasi, said the area lacks even the most basic infrastructure and essential services for survival. 

Tel Aviv is insisting on going ahead with the occupation plan unless Hamas releases all the captives in one go and completely disarms and surrenders. 

Hamas has signaled its willingness to release the captives and give up governance of Gaza to an independent Palestinian body. However, it refuses to disarm.