ISLAMABAD: Hamas has called on the United Nations and world powers to intervene immediately to halt what it described as Israel’s “genocide” in Gaza. The appeal came as Israeli forces escalated their bombardment of Gaza City, striking densely populated shelters and homes.
At least 73 Palestinians were killed in last 24 hours, including 43 in Gaza City, according to local officials. Survivors say entire families are being wiped out.
“My brother was killed in his room with his wife and children; they erased them all,” said Sabreen al-Mabhuh, a displaced Palestinian.
Gaza City ‘erased block by block’
According to Al Jazeera, residents in Sheikh Radwan reported Israeli grenades setting tents at schools ablaze. “Sheikh Radwan is being burned upside-down,” said Zakeya Sami. “If Gaza City’s takeover isn’t stopped, we might all die.” The enclave’s media office said Israel has detonated more than 100 robot-borne explosives in Gaza City in recent weeks, destroying entire residential blocks. Over 1,100 people have been killed there since August 13.
“It feels endless and all-consuming … entire neighbourhoods are being erased block by block,” Al Jazeera’s Hani Mahmoud reported from Gaza.
Famine deepens amid blockade
Gaza’s Health Ministry said six more people, including a child, died of starvation in the past 24 hours. It reported that 367 Palestinians, 131 of them children, have succumbed to hunger-related causes since Israel tightened its blockade.
UNICEF warned that 132,000 children under five could die from acute malnutrition by mid-2026, with more than 320,000 already at severe risk. Aid agencies say Israel’s siege has turned “basic survival into a daily struggle”.
Hamas signals readiness for ceasefire
Hamas reiterated its willingness to accept a comprehensive ceasefire that includes the release of all Israeli captives in exchange for Palestinian prisoners.
Israel rejected the offer, insisting the war would only end under its conditions: the return of captives and Hamas’s disarmament. Qatar, a key mediator, said Hamas has already accepted its proposals, while Israel has yet to agree.
Rising global condemnation
International pressure on Israel is mounting.
Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez blasted Europe’s handling of the war as a “failure” and became the first European leader to describe Israel’s actions as “genocide”.
Scotland’s First Minister John Swinney announced a freeze on funding for arms firms supplying Israel and urged London to suspend its trade pact.
The UAE warned Israel that annexing the occupied West Bank would cross a “red line” and undermine the Abraham Accords.
Israel’s far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich unveiled a sweeping plan to annex nearly the entire West Bank, pressing Prime Minister Netanyahu to back it.
Utrecht University in the Netherlands declared an academic boycott of Israeli institutions over “genocidal policies”.
Several Western states, including France, Britain, Belgium, Canada and Australia, are expected to formally recognise Palestine at the upcoming UN General Assembly.
