Call For A Ceasefire In North Gaza Despite An Hour, UNRWA Head: For Families To Evacuate Safely

JAKARTA - The head of the United Nations Palestinian refugee agency (UNRWA) called for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip despite only one hour, to allow safe travel for families who wish to flee, as the situation in the region is considered dire.

Local health officials said they were running out of supplies to treat injured patients in Israeli attacks for three weeks.

UNRWA head Philippe Lazzarini said the humanitarian situation had reached a dire point, with bodies left on the side of the road or buried under the rubble.

"In northern Gaza, people are just waiting to die," he tweeted on X. "They feel abandoned, desperate and alone," he said.

"I call for an immediate ceasefire, even if only for a few hours, to allow safe humanitarian travel for families wishing to leave the area and reach safer places," Lazzarini said.

The call comes as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrives in Israel looking for ways to revive efforts to reach a ceasefire in Gaza.

Washington is known to have asked Israel to allow more humanitarian supplies to northern Gaza.

Israel itself said it had allowed a number of aid trucks to enter and facilitated shipments by air, but Palestinian health officials said no assistance had reached them and the situation was very difficult.

The Israeli military, which launched an attack on Hamas militants who persisted in the nearby city of Jabalia this month, said it evacuated people along designated routes and had screened dozens of militants from civilians heading south.

Israeli unmanned aircraft circling overhead, calling on Palestinians to flee the area around the city of Beit Lahiya, close to the border line where the attacks began around the nearby area of South Java began earlier this month.

Many Palestinians fear the evacuation of northern cities is part of Israel's plan to clear the area of its population, in order to create a buffer zone that will allow Israel to control Gaza after the war.

The military denies the evacuation is part of a broader plan, saying it is moving people to separate them from Hamas fighters, but a broader strategic picture remains unclear since Sinwar's death removed one of Israel's main obstacles.

It said troops had dismantled tunnels and other infrastructure in Beit Lahiya and local residents said fighting appeared limited to a hit-and-run attack by a small group of Hamas militants, "not actual fighting or balanced fighting," a Palestinian in the area said via WhatsApp.