Death Toll In Gaza Reaches 10,000, Head Of UN Agency: It's Been 30 Days, Enough, This Must Stop

The impact of the Israeli attack on the Gaza Strip, Palestine. (Wikimedia Commons/Palestinian News & Information Agency (Wafa) in contact with APAimages)

JAKARTA - A number of UN heads called for an immediate cessation of the war, as the death toll from the crisis in the Gaza Strip, Palestine broke 10,000, while Israel resisted international pressure related to the ceasefire.

The leaders of the UN agency, which said it was "sufficient", demanded a humanitarian ceasefire on Monday, nearly a month after the war in Gaza raged and claimed heavy casualties from civilians, especially vulnerable groups.

"All residents were trapped and attacked, denied access to essential needs to survive, homes, shelters, hospitals and places of worship were bombed. This is unacceptable," the UN leaders said in a joint statement.

"We need a humanitarian ceasefire immediately. It's been 30 days. That's enough. This must stop now," the statement said.

The 18 heads of UN agencies that signed the statement included UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk, head of World Health Organization Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus and UN aid chief Martin Griffiths.

Separately, a spokesman for the Ministry of Health in Gaza Ashraf Al Qudra said 10,022 Palestinians in the enclave were killed in Israeli attacks, including 4,104 children, 2,641 women and 611 elderly people, quoted by CNN.

These figures show about three-quarters of the death toll comes from vulnerable populations. The ministry also reported 25,408 others injured.

On the Israeli side, local authorities said about 1,400 people were killed and 240 others were held hostage, following an attack by the Hamas militant group on October 7 to the southern region of the country.

As previously reported, Israel on Sunday rejected calls for a ceasefire in Gaza, with PM Benjamin Netanyahu asking all hostages detained by Hamas, about 240 people, to be released.

"There will be no ceasefire without the return of the hostages," said Prime Minister Netanyahu.