“What Israeli forces are doing in besieged north Gaza cannot be allowed to continue,” said Joyce Msuya, acting Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and UN Emergency Relief Coordinator.

Hospitals have been hit, health workers detained and first responders prevented from rescuing people trapped under the rubble, she noted.

“Shelters have been emptied and burned down…families have been separated, and men and boys taken away by the truckload,” she added.

According to reports, hundreds of Palestinians have been killed since Israeli security forces renewed their offensive in northern Gaza earlier this month. Tens of thousands of people have been displaced again.

“The entire population of north Gaza is at risk of dying,” Ms. Msuya warned.

“Such blatant disregard for basic humanity and for the laws of war must stop.”