Palestinians look for survivors after an Israeli strike on Rafah, Gaza Strip, Friday, Nov. 17, 2023.
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AP
A first consignment of fuel has entered Gaza after Israel bowed to U.S. pressure for limited deliveries to allow wastewater treatment and the resumption of communications after a two-day blackout.
The first delivery arrived from Egypt late Friday as U.N. officials warned of an increasingly desperate situation for 2.4 million Palestinians, and pleaded for a ceasefire.
On the ground though, Israel pressed its offensive, combing Gaza’s largest hospital for the Hamas operations centre it says lies beneath.
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A top United Nations official on Friday renewed calls for a “humanitarian ceasefire” to allow aid to reach the 2.2 million people trapped in the bloody conflict between Israel and Hamas.
“Call it what you will, but the requirement, from a humanitarian point of view, is simple. Stop the fighting to allow civilians to move safely,” U.N. humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths said in an address to the U.N. General Assembly.
“We are not asking for the moon,” Mr. Griffiths said. “We are asking for the basic measures required to meet the essential needs of the civilian population and stem the course of this crisis.”
In Gaza, 12,000 people, also mostly civilians, have been killed, in a relentless Israeli campaign, officials in the Hamas-run territory have said.
(With inputs from agencies)
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