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With Gaza's education system shattered by two years of gruelling war, Unicef's regional director says he fears for a "lost generation" of children wandering ruined streets with nothing to do."This is the third year that there has been no school," Edouard Beigbeder, the UN agency's regional director for the Middle East and North Africa, told AFP in Jerusalem on Thursday after returning from the Palestinian territory."If we don't start a real transition for all children in February, we will enter a fourth year. And then we can talk about a lost generation."The devastating conflict between Israel and Hamas reduced swathes of Gaza to rubble, displaced the vast majority of its population at least once and crippled public services.The destruction "is almost omnipresent wherever you go," Beigbeder said."It is impossible to imagine 80 percent of a territory that is completely flattened out or destroyed," he added.A US-brokered ceasefire which came into effect earlier in October has allowed Unicef and other education partners to get about one-sixth of children who should be in school into temporary "learning centres," Beigbeder told AFP."They have three days of learning in reading, mathematics and writing, but this is far from a formal education as we know it," he added.Beigbeder said that such learning centres, often located in schools or near displacement camps, consisted of metal structures covered with plastic sheeting or of tents.He said there were sometimes chairs, cardboard boxes or wooden planks serving as tables, and that children would write on salvaged slates or plastic boards."I've never seen everyone sitting properly," he added, describing children on mats or carpets.Despite the ceasefire, Beigbeder said the situation for Gaza's education system was catastrophic, with 85 percent of schools destroyed or unusable.Of the buildings still standing, many are being used as shelters for displaced people, he said, with the situation compounded by the fact that many children and teachers are also on the move and looking to provide for their own families.Gaza's school system was already overcrowded before the conflict, with half the pre-war population under the age of 18.Of the schools managed by the West Bank-based Palestinian Authority alone, Beigbeder said that some 80 out of 300 were in need of renovation.He said 142 had been completely destroyed, while 38 were "completely inaccessible" because they were located in the area to which Israeli troops have withdrawn under the ceasefire.The UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) said on October 18 that it was launching a "new e-learning school year" with the aim of reaching 290,000 pupils.Beigbeder said it was vital to put education "at the top of the agenda" and rebuild a sense of social cohesion for Gaza's children, almost all of whom are traumatised and in need of psychological support.Unicef said one of the priorities was getting permission at border crossings to bring in materials to set up semi-permanent schools, as well as school supplies which have been blocked as they're considered non-essential.Israel repeatedly cut off supplies into the Gaza Strip during the war, exacerbating dire humanitarian conditions, with the UN saying it caused a famine in parts of the Palestinian territory.The World Health Organisation said Thursday there had been little improvement in the amount of aid going into Gaza since the ceasefire took hold -- and no observable reduction in hunger."How can you rehabilitate classrooms if you don't have cement? And above all, we need notebooks and books ... blackboards, the bare minimum," said Beigbeder."Food is survival. Education is hope".

Gaza's civil defence agency said Israeli forces killed nine members of a single Palestinian family when they shelled a bus on Friday, after the military confirmed it had targeted a vehicle that crossed the so-called "yellow line"."Our teams recovered the bodies of nine martyrs, including four children and two women, after Israeli occupation forces directly targeted the vehicle they were travelling in within the Zeitun neighbourhood," said Mahmud Bassal, a spokesperson for the agency operating under Hamas authority, in a statement to AFP Saturday.Bassal said Israeli forces had fired "two tank shells at the vehicle". He noted that the bodies of two children remained missing, as their "remains were scattered due to the intensity of the bombardment".He added that the victims were members of the Shabaan family and were killed while "trying to check on their home" in the Zeitun neighbourhood.The ceasefire between Israeli forces and Hamas is now in its second week, but several incidents have been reported since it began.Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians have returned to northern Gaza in search of their homes since the truce began, often struggling to find them amid the sweeping devastation left by more than two years of war.Reuters adds from Cairo: The Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt will remain closed until further notice, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Saturday, adding its reopening will depend on Hamas handing over bodies of deceased hostages.Hamas said later Saturday it will be handing over two more hostage bodies , meaning 12 out of 28 bodies will have been handed over to Israel under a US-brokered ceasefire and hostage deal agreed between Israel and Hamas last week.As part of the deal, Hamas released all 20 living Israeli hostages it had been holding for two years, in return for almost 2,000 Palestinian detainees and convicted prisoners jailed in Israel.The resistance group has so far returned 10 of 28 bodies and says that locating some of the bodies amid the vast destruction in Gaza will take time.The deal requires Israel to return 360 bodies of Palestinians and so far it has handed over 15 bodies in return for each Israeli body it has received.

Trump: may travel to Middle East this weekend if deal reachedTurkish foreign minister sees 'a lot of headway' at talksMechanism of Israeli withdrawal is sticking point, sources sayUS President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that a deal to end the war in Gaza was "very close" and that he might travel to Egypt this weekend, as his envoys joined talks in Egypt to try to seal a ceasefire and hostage-release agreement.With Trump's 20-point plan appearing closer than any previous bid to halt the two-year-old conflict, delegations upgraded their presence at the indirect talks, launched on Monday in the Egyptian resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh.Trump offered an upbeat assessment, saying a deal was almost done and that he may travel to the Middle East this weekend, possibly leaving as soon as Saturday, if an agreement is reached. He later clarified that he likely would go to Egypt and the trip would probably be before or just after hostages are released."I was just given a note by the secretary of state saying that we're very close to a deal in the Middle East, and they're going to need me pretty quickly," Trump said during an unrelated White House event.The hand-scrawled note on White House stationery read, "You need to approve a Truth Social post soon so you can announce deal first," the Associated Press later reported. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.It marked the most promising effort yet to end the war in Gaza, which had evolved into a regional conflict, drawing in countries such as Iran, Yemen and Lebanon, and reshaping the Middle East.Just a day after the second anniversary of Hamas' attack on Israel that triggered Israel's devastating assault on Gaza, the group's negotiators handed over its lists of hostages and Palestinian prisoners to be freed in a swap with Israel.Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner and special envoy Steve Witkoff and Israeli Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, a close confidant of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, arrived and began participation in the negotiations, Israeli and Palestinian sources said.Also joining the discussions was the prime minister of longstanding mediator Qatar, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani, according to Egyptian sources.Despite the hopes raised for ending the war, crucial details are yet to be spelled out, including the timing, a post-war administration for the Gaza Strip and the fate of Hamas.In parallel with the Sharm el-Sheikh talks, Arab and other states will meet in Paris on Thursday to discuss Gaza's post-war transition, with Washington likely to be represented, diplomatic sources said.Hamas said on Wednesday it had handed over its lists of the hostages it held and the Palestinian prisoners held by Israel that it wanted to be exchanged, and was optimistic about the talks so far.The list of Palestinians Hamas wants freed is expected to include some of the most prominent prisoners ever jailed by Israel, whose release had been off limits in previous ceasefires.According to a Palestinian source close to the talks, the list includes Marwan al-Barghouti, a leader of the Fatah movement, and Ahmed Saadat, head of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. Both are serving multiple life sentences for involvement in attacks that killed Israelis.Hamas says the indirect negotiations were focused so far on three issues: halting the conflict, withdrawing Israeli forces from Gaza and the swap deal.The group has so far refused to discuss Israel's demand that Hamas give up its arms, which the Palestinian source said Hamas would reject as long as Israeli troops occupy Palestinian land.Two sources familiar with the talks confirmed that sticking points included the mechanism for the Israeli withdrawal, with Hamas seeking a clear timeline linked to the release of hostages and guarantees of a complete withdrawal by Israeli forces.Within Gaza, Israel has dialled down its military campaign at Trump's behest, but it has not halted strikes altogether.Gaza medical authorities reported eight people killed in Israeli strikes in the last 24 hours, the lowest toll for weeks. Daily death tolls had been around 10 times as high over the past month as Israeli forces advance on Gaza City."We hope from God that a ceasefire would take place as soon as possible, because people can't bear the suffering anymore," said Jehad al-Shagnobi, whose house was destroyed in the Sabra district of Gaza City.Another participant in the talks was Turkish spymaster Ibrahim Kalin, Egyptian sources said. This pointed to a growing role for Turkey, a NATO member with close contacts with Hamas. President Tayyip Erdogan said Trump had asked Turkey to help persuade Hamas to accept the deal.Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said on Wednesday that the negotiations had made "a lot of headway."Trump's plan calls for an international body led by Trump and including former British Prime Minister Tony Blair to play a role in Gaza's post-war administration. Arab countries which back the plan say it must lead to eventual independence for a Palestinian state, which Netanyahu says will never happen.There is no clear indication who will rule Gaza when the war ends. Netanyahu, Trump, Western and Arab states have ruled out a role for Hamas, which has run Gaza since driving out Palestinian rivals in 2007.Hamas has said it would relinquish Gaza governance only to a Palestinian technocrat government supervised by the Palestinian Authority and backed by Arab and Muslim countries. It rejects any role for Blair or foreign rule of Gaza.Global outrage has mounted against Israel's assault. Multiple rights experts, scholars and a UN inquiry say it amounts to genocide. Israel calls its actions self-defence after the 2023 Hamas attack.

After two years of a war marked by genocide, starvation, displacement, and relentless bombardment, Gaza now looks toward peace after the war turned it into a ghost city—its infrastructure destroyed, its devastated economy crippled, its population drastically reduced, and its trade, industry, environment, and public health all under threat. This means that the besieged Gaza Strip no longer exists as it did before Oct. 7, 2023, the date when the brutal Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip began, which today marks its second year and tomorrow enters its third. With unparalleled brutality and savagery, Israel committed horrific crimes and genocide in the Palestinian territory, using its entire arsenal of lethal weapons for killing, destruction, and genocide through indiscriminate bombing, suffocating siege, repeated incursions, and systematic destruction of various parts of the Strip—from north to south and east to west. The Strip has endured continuous suffering, losing countless martyrs relentlessly for over 730 days, in what has become the longest and bloodiest war in the history of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, and possibly in the history of the entire world. The conflict has transformed from a military battle into a humanitarian and geopolitical turmoil that is reshaping the entire region. Reports reveal indescribable human suffering and massive destruction affecting every aspect of life in the Gaza Strip, which has been under siege for more than 18 years. This is the result of a scorched-earth policy implemented by Israeli occupation forces, blatantly disregarding all recognized international and humanitarian values, charters and principles applicable during times of war. Official and international reports state that most cities and refugee camps in the Strip have turned into ghost towns, emptied of their residents who were forcibly displaced and pushed toward the southern part of the Strip. The area has been described as a disaster zone, with scenes of destruction stretching from the eastern border with the Israeli entity to the Mediterranean Sea. Almost nothing remains intact—homes lie in ruins, buildings have collapsed, schools are destroyed, and mosques, universities, and institutions have been leveled to the ground.According to documented reports and testimonies, the unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe that has struck the Strip defies description. Tens of thousands have been martyred, hundreds of thousands wounded, and more than two million people live in tattered tents or the rubble of their homes. Meanwhile, famine is expanding, food security teeters on the brink of collapse, clean water is extremely scarce, and diseases are widespread. Hospitals are nearly incapacitated due to severe shortages of medicines and medical equipment, putting patients' and the injured's lives at constant risk. Gaza has become the largest open-air theater of suffering in the 21st century.According to the Government Media Office in Gaza, approximately 90% of the Strip has been destroyed after two years of war. Thirty-eight hospitals across the Strip have been either destroyed or rendered non-functional, while the occupation army has taken control of about 80% of the Strip's area through invasions, displacement, and continuous bombardment.The office reported that since the start of the war, the occupation army has dropped more than 200,000 tons of explosives on Gaza. Additionally, 95% of the Strip's schools have been partially or completely damaged as a result of the bombing.The Government Media Office also indicated that 67,160 Palestinians have been martyred, the majority of them children and women, and 169,679 others have been injured. The office further stated that 2,700 families have been completely wiped out and erased from the civil registry, and more than 460 people have died from hunger and malnutrition amid the ongoing siege and shortage of humanitarian supplies.It also clarified that 244 government headquarters and 292 sports and educational facilities have been destroyed, in addition to widespread damage to municipal services. Thousands of commercial establishments, banks, currency exchange shops, and central markets have also been affected. Preliminary estimates of losses across 15 economic sectors amount to $70 billion, reflecting direct impact only and excluding indirect effects caused by halted production, brain drain, and reduced commercial capacity.Housing sector losses alone are estimated at nearly $28 billion due to the complete or partial destruction of approximately 268,000 housing units, alongside widespread displacement and loss of property. Regarding electricity and energy facilities, direct losses are estimated at around $1.4 billion.According to the United Nations, the volume of rubble is estimated at more than 61 million tons, 15% of which is contaminated with toxic materials. The organization states that over 1.5 million people are in urgent need of emergency shelter amid severe food shortages and an almost complete absence of medical services, especially as organizations like the International Red Cross and Doctors Without Borders have been forced to suspend their operations due to the intensity of the brutal Israeli bombing.

Dozens were killed in Israeli strikes on Gaza Saturday, local health officials said, even as US President Donald Trump said Israel has “temporarily stopped the bombing” in order to give his plan “a chance”.Trump had asked Israel to stop bombing Gaza in response to a declaration by Hamas that it was ready to free hostages under his plan to end the two-year-old war. At least 36 people were killed in bombardments and airstrikes in the devastated Palestinian enclave since Trump demanded Israel halt its attacks late on Friday.Eighteen people died in sporadic incidents, while 18 people, including children, were killed and several others wounded in an Israeli strike on a house in the Tuffah neighbourhood in Gaza City, medics said. The attack damaged several buildings nearby.On Saturday, Trump said he appreciated that Israel had "temporarily stopped the bombing," and he urged Hamas, the Palestinian resistance group that controls Gaza, to move quickly on his plan "or else all bets will be off.""I will not tolerate delay, which many think will happen, or any outcome where Gaza poses a threat again. Let's get this done, FAST. Everyone will be treated fairly!" Trump said on his Truth Social platform.Hamas had drawn a welcoming response from Trump on Friday by saying it accepted certain key parts of his 20-point peace proposal, including ending the war, Israel's withdrawal, and the release of Israeli hostages and Palestinian captives.In Washington, a White House official said that Trump was sending his envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner to Egypt to finalise the technical details of the hostage release and discuss a lasting peace deal.Egypt will also host delegations from Israel and Hamas tomorrow to discuss the anticipated exchange of Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners, the country's Foreign Ministry said in a statement. Hamas' response to the plan drew a chorus of optimistic statements by world leaders, who urged an end to the deadliest conflict involving Israel since its creation in 1948 and called for the release of Israelis still held in the enclave.Another possible boost to peace hopes came with a supportive statement from the Palestinian Islamic Jihad group, which is smaller than Hamas but seen as more hardline.The group, which also holds hostages, endorsed Hamas' response - a move that could help pave the way for the release of Israelis still held by both parties.Hamas' stance, and its backing by Islamic Jihad, may raise the spirit of Gazans, who had watched one ceasefire effort after another fail as Israeli strikes hit the strip over the past two years, creating a humanitarian crisis and displacing millions.Some Palestinians expressed fear that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who heads Israel's most far-right government ever, will ultimately withdraw from any plan to end the war.Netanyahu's office said Israel was preparing for "immediate implementation" of the first stage of Trump's Gaza plan for the release of Israeli hostages following Hamas' response.Domestically, the prime minister is caught between growing pressure to end the war - from hostage families and a war-weary public - and demands from hardline members of his coalition who insist there must be no let-up in Israel's campaign in Gaza.

The daily death toll in the ongoing Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip since dawn Friday has risen to 60.Medical sources in Gaza hospitals reported that 17 martyrs arrived at Al Shifa Hospital, 20 at Al Ahli Arab Baptist Hospital, two at Al Awda Hospital, 20 at Nasser Hospital, and one at Al Aqsa Hospital.The Israeli army has continued its comprehensive aggression on the Gaza Strip since Oct 7, 2023, resulting in the martyrdom of tens of thousands of Palestinians, the majority of whom are children and women.A number of victims remain under the rubble, unable to be reached by ambulances and rescue teams amid an unprecedented humanitarian disaster.The death toll from the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip has risen to 66,288, in addition to 169,165 injuries.In a statement Friday, the Ministry of Health in Gaza said the death toll since March 18, when the occupation violated the ceasefire agreement, has reached 13,420, in addition to the injury of 57,124 persons.Meanwhile, the UN Children’s Fund (Unicef) confirmed Friday that there are no safe places for Palestinians forcibly displaced from Gaza City by Israeli forces. The areas designated for them in the southern Gaza Strip are nothing more than places of death, the organisation warned.Speaking to journalists in Geneva, Unicef spokesperson James Elder stated that the idea of a safe zone in the south is a farce.Reporting from Deir Al Balah in central Gaza, Elder described the situation as dire, bombs fall from the sky at a terrifyingly predictable pace. Schools designated as temporary shelters are routinely reduced to rubble, and tents are systematically incinerated by airstrikes.Israeli forces have compelled Palestinians to relocate to what they call a humanitarian zone in Al Mawasi along the coast, claiming it would provide aid, medical care, and infrastructure. However, repeated airstrikes on the area, despite its designation as a safe zone, reveal a deliberate targeting of civilians, Elder said.He emphasised that issuing a blanket evacuation order does not strip those who remain of their right to civilian protection, adding that so-called safe zones are also places of death.Al Mawasi, he noted, has become one of the most densely populated areas on Earth, grotesquely overcrowded and stripped of the basic means of survival.Elder recalled that the UN began debunking the notion of unilaterally declared safe zones in late 2023, stressing that the law is very clear.As the occupying power, he added, Israel is responsible for ensuring that any safe zone includes all essentials for survival: food, shelter, sanitation. None of these are adequately available.Initially, the UN assumed these zones would not be bombed. Yet over the past 18 months, Elder stressed, they have been hit dozens of times, with displaced people in tents subjected to air strikes.In a related context, Elder highlighted the dire conditions facing mothers and newborns in Gaza, amid severe shortages of medical supplies and overcrowding at Nasser Medical Complex in the south.He underscored that the situation for mothers and newborns in Gaza has never been worse, and at Nasser Hospital, they see hallways packed with women who have just given birth.Since Israel’s intensified bombardment of Gaza began in August ahead of its ground offensive, the military has continued to pressure Palestinians to move south, despite the lack of safety or protection in those areas.

Gaza's civil defence agency said Wednesday that Israeli forces had killed at least 46 people, including 36 in Gaza City, which Israel's defence minister has told residents to flee.Mahmud Bassal, a spokesman for the rescue agency operating under Hamas authority, said several deaths resulted from attacks in the north of the territory, to the west of Gaza City.Drone strikes also killed two people in Al-Zawayda and two people at a camp in Nuseirat, both in central Gaza, Bassal added.Two aid seekers were killed by Israeli gunfire southwest of Khan Yunis in southern Gaza, he said.Media restrictions in the territory and difficulties in accessing many areas mean AFP is unable to independently verify the tolls and details provided by the civil defence or the Israeli military.The strikes come as Defence Minister Israel Katz warned the military was tightening its encirclement of Gaza City, telling residents to flee south, as Hamas weighs US President Donald Trump's plan to end nearly two years of war in the Palestinian territory.

Flotilla is latest attempt to break Israel's blockade of GazaActivists say Israeli vessels approached, jammed communicationsBoats expect to reach Gaza on Thursday, if not interceptedIsrael says flotilla has provocative, not humanitarian aimsThe international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza said Israeli vessels approached some of its boats and engaged in "dangerous and intimidatory manoeuvres" on Wednesday as it neared the Palestinian territory.The mission's organisers said two Israeli "warships" had approached fast and encircled two of the flotilla's boats, Alma and Sirius. All navigation and communication devices went down in what one organiser on board, Thiago Ávila, described in a press conference as a "cyber attack".The flotilla appeared to have recovered some communications. Israeli officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment."These hostile actions placed unarmed civilians from over 40 countries in grave danger," the flotilla said in a statement.The Global Sumud Flotilla consists of more than 40 civilian boats carrying about 500 people, among them parliamentarians, lawyers and activists including Swedish climate campaigner Greta Thunberg.It is the latest sea-borne attempt to break Israel's blockade of Gaza, much of which has been turned into a wasteland by almost two years of war, to deliver food and medicine.The boats have reached within 120 nautical miles of Gaza's coast, inside an area that Israel is policing to stop any boats approaching.The flotilla said it would continue its course towards Gaza and expects to arrive on Thursday morning if not intercepted.It was unclear who operated the vessels that approached the flotilla. A video post on the flotilla's Instagram page showed the silhouetted outline of what appeared to be a military vessel with a gun turret near the civilian boats.Reuters confirmed that the video was filmed from the vessel Sirius because its rigging and lines matched file imagery of the boat. Reuters could not confirm the identity of the other vessel in the video or when the video was taken.Last week the flotilla was attacked by drones, which dropped stun grenades and itching powder on the vessels, causing damage but no injuries.Israel did not comment on that attack, but has said it will use any means to prevent the boats from reaching Gaza, arguing that its naval blockade is legal as it battles Hamas in the coastal enclave.Italy and Spain deployed naval ships to help with any rescue or humanitarian needs but stopped following the flotilla once it got within 150 nautical miles (278 km) of Gaza for safety reasons. Turkish drones have also followed the boats.Italy and Greece on Wednesday jointly called on Israel not to hurt the activists aboard and called on the flotilla to hand over its aid to the Catholic Church for indirect delivery to Gaza - a plea the flotilla has previously rejected.Israeli officials have repeatedly denounced the mission as a stunt."This systematic refusal (to hand over the aid) demonstrates that the objective is not humanitarian, but provocative. They are not seeking to help, they are seeking an incident," Jonathan Peled, the Israeli ambassador to Italy, said in a post on X.At the press conference held by organisers on Wednesday, Francesca Albanese, the top U.N. expert on Palestinian rights, said any interception of the flotilla "would be yet another violation of international law, the law of the sea" since Israel had no legal jurisdiction on waters off Gaza.Israel has imposed a naval blockade on Gaza since Hamas took control of the coastal enclave in 2007 and there have been several previous attempts by activists to deliver aid by sea.In 2010, nine activists were killed after Israeli soldiers boarded a flotilla of six ships manned by 700 pro-Palestinian activists from 50 countries.In June this year, Israeli naval forces detained Thunberg and 11 crew members from a small ship organised by a pro-Palestinian group called the Freedom Flotilla Coalition as they approached Gaza.

Gaza's civil defence agency and hospitals said Tuesday that Israeli forces killed at least 41 people across the territory, including 17 near an aid distribution centre.The Israeli military has pressed on with its offensive even as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu voiced support for US President Donald Trump's plan to end the war.Officials from Gaza's civil defence agency -- a rescue force operating under Hamas authority -- said 17 people were shot dead by Israeli forces near an aid distribution site near the Wadi Gaza bridge in central Gaza.Al-Awda hospital confirmed receiving 17 bodies and said 33 people were wounded."We received 17 martyrs and 33 injured as a result of Israeli forces targeting gatherings of citizens near the humanitarian aid distribution area near Wadi Gaza Bridge in the central Gaza Strip," the hospital said in a statement.Thousands of Palestinians congregate daily near food distribution points in Gaza, including those managed by the US- and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation.Since launching in late May, its operations have been marred by regular reports of Israeli forces firing on those waiting to collect aid.An AFP journalist saw hundreds of children crowding a food distribution centre in Gaza's central Nuseirat area, where volunteers were handing out rice and other supplies.When asked about Tuesday's incident near Wadi Gaza Bridge, the military said it was looking into it.Israeli restrictions on the entry of aid supplies into Gaza since the start of the war nearly two years ago have led to shortages of food and essential items, including medicine and fuel, which hospitals require to power their generators.The civil defence added that 15 more people were killed in several strikes in Gaza City, from where hundreds of thousands have been forced to flee due to Israeli air and ground assaults.Nine others were killed elsewhere in the territory, it said.Media restrictions in Gaza and difficulties accessing swathes of the territory mean AFP is unable to independently verify the tolls and details provided by the civil defence and the Israeli military.

The UN children's charity called on Monday for an immediate evacuation to save at least 25 ill or premature babies in incubators in Gaza City as Israel steps up its ground offensive, shelling a hospital overnight housing around half of them.Palestinian health officials say tanks are surrounding the area near Al Helo Hospital where at least 12 babies are in incubators. Medics said the site was shelled. Video obtained by Reuters showed hospital rooms and beds there strewn with debris."It is time to move them because Gaza City again has become a combat zone, but moving them where? There is no safe place for them to go," Unicef spokesperson Ricardo Pires told Reuters.Israeli authorities did not immediately respond to a request for comment.Evacuation of the babies, many of them newborns, will mean moving them to makeshift carts, wrapped in blankets with portable oxygen supplies and drips, Pires said. Still, they could be exposed to infection, variable temperatures or supplies could run out during the transfer."Moving them seems like the best option we have now...but at the same time, it's a very risky one."It was not immediately clear which hospitals could take the babies, with many damaged, overcrowded and facing shortages.Pires was in Gaza City last month where he saw one of the babies - a premature girl named Narges who, he said, had been removed from the womb of her dead mother who had been shot in the head."We're very concerned not only about her, but all the other babies," he said, saying efforts to reach her father and her doctors since the shelling had been unsuccessful.In Gaza City, there are more babies than incubators and some of them are sharing, he said, adding that Israel had denied some requests to import more. Pires said he saw four in one incubator last month.Hundreds of thousands of Gazans have been displaced by the offensive on Gaza's famine-struck north where shortages are worsening.

The Civil Defence in the Gaza Strip has raised alarm over the ongoing Israeli blockade preventing the entry of fuel supplies necessary for operating rescue and firefighting vehicles, warning of mounting humanitarian consequences.In a statement Sunday, Director of Humanitarian Support and International Relations at the Civil Defence, Mohammed al-Mughair, said that the continued denial of fuel supplies will severely impact the agency’s capacity to respond to emergencies and could result in further loss of lives across the besieged enclave.Al-Mughair warned of a sharp decline in Civil Defence services if the fuel shortage persists, and urged all concerned parties and international actors to intervene immediately and press Israel to allow the entry of fuel destined for humanitarian institutions operating in Gaza.The Civil Defence has been appealing for months to secure fuel for its operations. On August 20, it reported receiving only 10% of its monthly fuel needs since the beginning of that month.The crisis has been further exacerbated by Israel's closure of border crossings on March 2, effectively halting the flow of humanitarian aid, relief supplies, and fuel into the territory. Only limited fuel quantities have been allowed via international organisations, falling far short of Gaza’s minimum humanitarian requirements.This continued restriction, the Civil Defence warns, is not only hindering lifesaving operations but also pushing Gaza’s fragile emergency response infrastructure to the brink of collapse.

Oscar-winning US actor Jennifer Lawrence called Israel's war in Gaza a genocide and warned about the normalisation of lies in American politics during a Friday appearance at Spain's San Sebastian Film Festival."What's happening is no less than a genocide, and it's unacceptable," Lawrence told a news conference when asked about the war that has devastated the Palestinian territory for almost two years.Turning to her own country, the 35-year-old said she was "terrified for my children, for all of our children", adding that "this disrespect and the discourse in American politics right now is going to be normal."For the younger generation, "it's going to be totally normal to them that politics has no integrity", warned the star of "Silver Linings Playbook", "American Hustle" and "Joy"."Politicians lie, there's no empathy, and everybody needs to remember that when you ignore what's happening on one side of the world, it won't be long until it's on your side as well."The US star was in the northern coastal city to receive the "Donostia" lifetime achievement award, with a showing of her latest movie "Die, My Love".Co-produced by Lawrence and Martin Scorsese and directed by Lynne Ramsay, the film portrays how a couple's happiness at having a child turns sour, following a series of works that provide a different perspective on motherhood.Lawrence, a mother of two children, said the movie reminded her of her difficult postpartum following the birth of her second child."It's really bizarre, watching the movie now and seeing everything in retrospect, after feeling like I've been through that forest," she said.