Conversation with Merlin [email protected] · Wed Dec 13 2023

write article on Gaza current situation with related pictures

As an AI, I am unable to provide pictures or visual media, but can certainly craft an article based on the current situation in Gaza given by the information update. Here is a draft article for your consideration:

The Gaza Crisis: An Alarming Humanitarian Catastrophe Unfolds

Escalating Violence Leads to Mounting Casualties

In the embattled Gaza, a surge in violence has led to the death of nearly300 Palestinians in less than a day, signaling one of the deadliest periods since the conflict intensified on 7. Fierce artillery and airstrikes from Israel and the unyielding stance of Hamas have plunged the region into deep turmoil. Hamas and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu continue to trade threats amidst the cacophony of war, with neither side showing signs ofing.

The Ravages of War

Gaza’s neighborhoods have been subjected to severe destruction, with entire areas flattened during this most recent wave of raids, which Palestinian ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qudra describes as catastrophic. With the death toll surpassing 18,000, the being women and children, the conflict has not only razed but has also shattered countless lives. Urban areas like Gaza City’s neighborhood of Shujayea the Jabalia refugee camp are among the hardest hit, experiencing relentless shelling and street combat.

A Healthcare System on the Brink

The World Health Organization has marked Gaza's health situation as dire, with a revealing statistic: only 14 of 36 hospitals are operational at a diminished capacity. An influx of casualties, coupled with an infrastructure crippled by war, leaves medical personnel overwhelmed and resources dwindling. The recent invasion near a UNRWA clinic by Israeli only compounds the crisis, signaling no respite for the medical teams braving the frontlines.

Displacement and Human Suffering

A figure emerges—around 90 percent of Gaza's 2.3 million people have displaced within their own borders. The international community has cast a light on the inadequacy of access to essential resources with severe shortages of food, water, and other basic supplies reported.

The people in Khan Younis, once a safe zone, now face the repercussions of this shift in landscape. Over a million Palestinians sought refuge in the south following an evacuation order, only to encounter new orders to flee from the advance of military operations.

International Response

leaders are paying close attention, with renewed support from the US to Israel through military supply sales coming scrutiny considering the civilian toll and infrastructure damage. The WHO and the UN have called for immediate, unimpeded aid deliveries to Gaza, emphasizing the dire needs and the obstacles faced by aid organizations. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has alerted to the possibility that public order may soon completely break down, leading to mass displacement and epidemic diseases.

A Glimmer of Diplomacy in the Dark

Amidst the chaos and destruction, Qatar has emerged as a mediator, seeking to broker truces and facilitate exchanges between the warring parties. However, recent efforts have against the backdrop of the continuous bombardment and high tensions.

A Call to the World

This catastrophe unfolding in Gaza is not simply a regional conflict—it holds the attention of the global stage, with for international peace and human rights. The voices from Gaza plead for an end not just to the violence, but to a blockade that has lasted for years, contributing to the ever-declining quality of life and human dignity in the region.

Calls for an end to the hostilities are growing louder, and the world watches with bated breath, hoping for a cessation of violence and a path forward towards peace and reconstruction.


This article is for informational purposes, providing a snapshot of the current situation as reported Please note that the situation is fluid and subject to rapid change

Fierce fighting has killed nearly 300 Palestinians in the past 24 hours in Gaza as the Palestinian armed group Hamas and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu exchanged threats. Israeli raids continued across the besieged territory on Sunday, including in northern Gaza where entire neighbourhoods have been flattened by air strikes and where ground troops that have been operating for more than six weeks continue to face heavy resistance from Hamas fighters. Gazas health ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qudra told Al Jazeera in a telephone interview that 297 people were killed and more than 550 wounded in the past 24 hours in Gaza, bringing the death toll since the start of the war on October 7 to more than 18,000 the majority of them women and children. Hamas, Netanyahu exchange threats Israeli attacks on Gaza continued for the 65th day on Sunday, with Hamas warning that no captives it took on October 7 would leave Gaza alive unless its demands were met. Neither the fascist enemy and its arrogant leadership nor its supporters can take their prisoners alive without an exchange and negotiation and meeting the demands of the resistance, Hamas spokesman Abu Obeida said in a televised broadcast. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, on his part, called on Hamas to surrender. It is the beginning of the end of Hamas. I say to the Hamas terrorists: Its over. Dont die for [Yahya] Sinwar. Surrender now, he said, referring to the Hamas chief in Gaza. Hamas earlier said Israel launched a series of very violent raids targeting the southern city of Khan Younis and the road linking it to Rafah near the border with Egypt. Gaza residents also reported fierce fighting in Gaza Citys neighbourhood of Shujayea and in the Jabalia refugee camp, a dense urban area. The Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) said Israeli forces raided an area near the UNRWA clinic in the heart of the Jabalia camp where its emergency teams and medics are operating a medical post. The team consists of nine doctors, nurses, and volunteers. The surrounding area is currently under bombardment, posing a constant threat to the lives of medical teams and the wounded, the Red Crescent said in a post on X on Sunday evening. IOF has invaded the area near the UNRWA clinic in the midest of the Jabalia camp, where the PRCS EMS teams operate an advanced medical post. The team consists of 9 doctors, nurses, and volunteers. The surrounding area is currently under bombardment, posing a constant threat pic.twitter.com/JcFpL1IRRS PRCS (@PalestineRCS) December 10, 2023 In Shujayea where Israeli snipers and tanks positioned themselves among the abandoned buildings residents said the dead and wounded were left in the streets as ambulances could no longer reach the area. They are attacking anything that moves, Hamza Abu Fatouh told the Associated Press. Journey of death Israel had ordered the evacuation of northern Gaza early in the war but tens of thousands of people have remained, fearing that the south would be no safer or that they would never be allowed to return home. Heavy fighting was also under way in and around the southern city of Khan Younis on Sunday. The mass exodus continues. Those fleeing northern Gaza in order to survive are describing it as the journey of death, said Al Jazeeras Tareq Abu Azzoum, reporting from Rafah in southern Gaza. Those inKhan Younis have been ordered to flee to al-Mawasi on the coastline an area considered to be very dangerous, he added. Its also a region without any infrastructure including access to water, food and electricity. Theres also no access to toilets. The situation is deteriorating extremely fast now. Gazas health situation catastrophic: WHO The World Health Organizations 34-member executive board on Sunday adopted a resolution calling for immediate, unimpeded aid deliveries to Gaza. Gazas health system is on its knees and collapsing, said WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, with only 14 of 36 hospitals functioning at any capac

aljazeera.com

EXPLAINERIsrael has intensified attacks on Khan Younis, which it dubbed a safe zone in the initial days of the war.Since the one-week truce in Gaza ended on December 1, Israel has expanded its offensive to the besieged enclaves south, where more than a million Palestinians sought shelter following Israeli bombardment in the north. Israel has intensified attacks on Khan Younisdeclaring it a dangerous combat zone. Gazas second-largest city, which was dubbed a safe zone in the initial days of the war, is now a scene of devastation and suffering. Fear of Israeli strikes haunts people while lack of food and other basic amenities have driven people to misery amid bloody street fighting. Meanwhile, Israel continues to attack northern Gaza, raiding the Kamal Adwan Hospital on Tuesday. Here is what is happening in Khan Younis and the rest of southern Gaza. What is happening in Khan Younis? Two people were killed in Khan Younis in Israeli artillery shelling on Tuesday. A bicycle was reportedly hit on Sunday in the centre of Khan Younis, killing two Palestinian children who were riding it, according to the UN humanitarian agency OCHA. The city has been hit by air strikes and fire belts, causing casualties and injuries. Injured Palestinians were largely taken to the Nasser and European hospitals in the city, the Palestinian news agency Wafa reported. Israels Defence Minister Yoav Gallant pushed back against international calls on Monday to wrap up the countrys military offensive in the Gaza Strip, saying the current phase of the operation against the Hamas group will take time. How many people fled to Khan Younis? Over one million Palestinians have been displaced from northern Gaza since October 13, when the Israeli military ordered people to evacuate to the south on a 24-hour notice. More than 215,000 displaced Palestinians took shelter in dozens of UNRWA shelters in Khan Younis. However, on December 3, Israel ordered an immediate evacuation of about 20 percent of the city, which was home to more than 400,000 people before the war erupted on October 7. The area marked for evacuation included 21 shelters and 50,000 internally displaced people, mostly from the north of Gaza, according to OCHA. Several of those who were displaced to Khan Younis had to further move to Rafah city near the Egyptian border, some even moving for the fourth time since the outbreak of violence. Now, thousands of displaced people from Khan Younis itself, as well as the north of Gaza are squeezed in the dangerously overcrowded al-Fukhari, south of Khan Younis. Hospitals and schools in the area are filled beyond capacity, as the Israeli army continues to order Palestinians to move further south. Shrinking space and the rising danger of health issues and infections due to the lack of water have been an increasing cause for concern. Attacks on southern Gaza Thousands of Palestinians have been forced to flee further to the south towards the city of Rafah. Twenty Palestinians, including seven children and at least five women, were killed in Israeli attacks on Rafah on Tuesday. There are reports of more air attacks. Martin Griffiths, the UN humanitarian affairs coordinator, says his organisation was hopeful and has been informed that once the war moved to southern Gaza, there would be a different, more precise approach to the fighting. [But] whats happened is the assault on southern Gaza has been no less than the north. Its raging through Khan Younis at the moment, and it is threatening Rafah. The compression of the population is greater. We cannot be sure of any of our points of operation to be safe, he told Al Jazeera. Central Gaza has not been spared either as an Israeli air strike overnight flattened a residential building where some 80 people were staying in the Maghazi refugee camp, killing at least 22 on Monday. Israeli air strikes and the brutal ground invasion have killed at least 18,205 Palestinians and wounded 49,645 others. More than 80 percent of the casualty

aljazeera.com

Sky NewsGaza latest: UN calls for immediate ceasefire in general assembly vote; Biden says Israel 'starting to lose support'The UN general assembly has voted to call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. Meanwhile, the IDF has said it has recovered the bodies of two....8 hours agoBBCIsrael-Gaza latest news: UN General Assembly overwhelmingly demands Gaza ceasefireMore than 150 members vote for the non-binding resolution, which demands an immediate halt to the fighting..5 hours agoAl JazeeraIsrael-Hamas war updates: Gaza 'fast becoming unlivable' as fighting ragesNow 1.3 million Palestinians trapped in overcrowded and unprotected shelters; 'not a place for humans', UNRWA says..1 day agoAnadolu AjansIran warns of 'out of control' situation if attacks on Gaza not stoppedISTANBUL. The top diplomats of Iran and China discussed war in the besieged Palestinian enclave of Gaza, with Tehran warning the war had....16 hours agoBBCIsrael determined to finish Gaza operation despite civilian sufferingA senior military adviser tells the BBC Israel will need more than a few more weeks to destroy Hamas..17 hours agoAl JazeeraWhat is the situation in Gazas Khan Younis as Israel intensifies attacks?Since the one-week truce in Gaza ended on December 1, Israel has expanded its offensive to the besieged enclave's south, where more than a....14 hours agoAl JazeeraIsrael-Hamas war updates: Fierce battles rage in southern and northern Gaza | Israel-Palestine conflict NewsNo safe place to go in the Gaza Strip, Palestinian health ministry says, as deadly Israeli attacks continue. About 18,000 Palestinians....2 days agoAl JazeeraNearly 300 killed in Gaza in 24 hours as Hamas, Netanyahu trade threatsHamas warns no captives would leave Gaza alive unless demands met while the Israeli PM asks the group to surrender..2 days agoAl JazeeraIsrael-Hamas war: List of key events, day 67An anticipated UNGA meeting amid a Houthi attack on a Norwegian-registered tanker here are major updates..22 hours agoAl JazeeraIsrael-Hamas war updates: Gaza death toll surpasses 17,700 | Israel-Palestine conflict NewsAnother 48780 people have been wounded in incessant Israeli bombardment, Gaza health ministry says..3 days ago

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write article on Gaza with five headlines supported by picture to depict current ground realty of Gaza

I'm unable to provide pictures or visual content. However, I can certainly structure an article with headlines that would align with corresponding images

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) Israels military pushed ahead with its punishing air and ground offensive in Gaza on Saturday, bolstered by a U.S. veto derailing U.N. Security Council efforts to end the war and word that an emergency sale of $106 million worth of tank ammunition had been approved by Washington.Unable to leave Gaza, a territory 25 miles (40 kilometers) long by about 7 miles (11 kilometers) wide, more than 2 million Palestinians faced more bombardment Saturday, even in areas that Israel had described as safe zones.The sale of nearly 14,000 rounds of tank ammunition was announced a day after the U.S. vetoed a U.N. Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire in Gaza, a measure that had wide international support. The U.S. said Secretary of State Antony Blinken determined that an emergency exists in the national interest requiring the immediate sale, meaning it bypasses congressional review. Such a determination is rare. A day after Israel confirmed it was rounding up Palestinian men for interrogation, some men released Saturday told The Associated Press they had been treated badly, providing the first accounts of the conditions from the detentions. Osama Oula said Israeli troops had pulled men out of a building in the Shujaiyah area of Gaza City, ordering them to the street in their underwear. Oula said Israeli forces bound him and others with zip ties, beat them for several days and gave them little water to drink. Ahmad Nimr Salman showed his hands, marked and swollen from the zip ties, and said older men with diabetes or high blood pressure were ignored when they asked soldiers to remove their ties. He said the troops asked, Are you with Hamas? We say no, then they would slap us or kick us. He said his 17-year-old son Amjad is still held by the troops. The group was released after five days and told to walk south. Ten freed detainees arrived at a hospital in Deir al-Balah on Saturday after flagging down an ambulance.The Israeli military had no immediate comment when asked about the alleged abuse. With the war in its third month, the Palestinian death toll in Gaza has surpassed 17,700, the majority women and children, according to the Health Ministry in the Hamas-controlled territory. The ministry does not differentiate between civilian and combatant deaths. Palestinians mourn their relatives killed in the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip, in front of the morgue at the hospital in Deir al Balah, Gaza Strip, on Friday, Dec. 8, 2023. (AP Photo/Adel Hana) Two hospitals in central and southern Gaza received the bodies of 133 people from Israeli bombings over the past 24 hours, the Health Ministry said midday Saturday. Israel holds the Hamas militants responsible for civilian casualties, accusing them of using civilians as human shields, and says it has made considerable efforts with evacuation orders to get civilians out of harms way. It says 97 Israeli soldiers have died in the ground offensive after Hamas raided southern Israel on Oct. 7, killing about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking about 240 hostages.Hamas said Saturday that it continued its rocket fire into Israel.In Gaza, residents reported airstrikes and shelling, including in the southern city of Rafah near the Egyptian border one area where the Israeli army had told civilians to go. In a colorful classroom there, knee-high childrens tables were strewn with rubble. Israelis rush to a shelter as a siren sounds a warning of incoming rockets fired from the Gaza strip, in Tel Aviv, Israel, on Friday, Dec. 8, 2023. (AP Photo/Leo Correa) We now live in the Gaza Strip and are governed by the American law of the jungle. America has killed human rights, said Rafah resident Abu Yasser al-Khatib. In northern Gaza, Israel has been trying to secure the militarys hold, despite heavy resistance from Hamas. The military said that it found weapons inside a school in Shujaiyah, a densely populated neighborhood of Gaza City, and that, in a s

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Image source, Getty ImagesAlmost two million people in Gaza - more than 85% of the population - are reported to have fled their homes in the two months since Israel began its military operation in response to Hamas's deadly attacks of 7 October.The Strip has been under the control of Hamas since 2007 and Israel says it is trying to destroy the military and governing capabilities of the Islamist group, which is committed to the destruction of Israel.The situation for ordinary people in Gaza - a densely populated enclave 41km (25 miles) long and 10km wide, bounded by the Mediterranean Sea on one side and fenced off from Israel and Egypt at its borders - is "getting worse by the hour", according to United Nations aid agencies.Israel warned civilians to evacuate the area of Gaza north of the Wadi Gaza riverbed, ahead of its invasion.The evacuation area included Gaza City - which was the most densely populated area of the Gaza Strip. The Erez border crossing into Israel is closed, so those living in the evacuation zone had no choice but to head towards the southern districts.Image source, Getty ImagesSouthern Gaza evacuation areasThe Israel Defense Forces (IDF) are now focusing its operations on southern Gaza and have told Palestinians that even Khan Younis - the largest urban area in the south - is not safe and they should move south, or further west to a so-called "safe area" at al-Mawasi, a thin strip of mainly agricultural land along the Mediterranean coast, close to the Egyptian border.Fighting in Khan Younis has pushed tens of thousands of people to flee to the southern district of Rafah in recent days, the UN said. The IDF has produced a map splitting Gaza into small, numbered blocks and issues warnings to clusters of blocks at a time telling people to evacuate them for their own safety.According to the UN, just over 75% of Gaza's population - some 1.7 million people - were already registered refugees before Israel warned Palestinians to leave northern Gaza.Palestinian refugees are defined by the UN as people whose "place of residence was Palestine during the period 1 June 1946 to 15 May 1948, and who lost both home and means of livelihood as a result of the 1948 War". The children of Palestinian refugees are also able to apply for refugee status.Most of Gaza's population displacedMore than 500,000 of those refugees were already in eight crowded camps located across the Strip.Following Israel's warnings, the number of displaced people has risen rapidly and 1.9 million have fled their homes since 7 October, the UN says.On average, before the conflict, there were more than 5,700 people per sq km in Gaza - very similar to the average density in London - but that figure was more than 9,000 in Gaza City, the most heavily populated area.The UN warns that overcrowding has become a major concern in its emergency shelters in central and southern Gaza, with some housing at four times its capacity. Many of these emergency shelters are schools and in some there are dozens of people living in a single classroom. Other families are living in tents or makeshift shelters in compounds or on waste ground in open spaces.Israel has already launched hundreds of airstrikes across Gaza and says it has used more than 10,000 bombs and missiles, causing extensive damage to buildings and infrastructure.Gazan officials say more than 50% of housing units in Gaza have been destroyed, left uninhabitable or damaged since the start of the conflict.The map below - using analysis of satellite data by Corey Scher of CUNY Graduate Center and Jamon Van Den Hoek of Oregon State University - shows which urban areas have sustained concentrated damage since the start of the conflict.They say up to 105,000 buildings across the whole Gaza Strip have suffered damage. But North Gaza and Gaza City have borne the brunt of it. About half the buildings in the two northern regions are believed to have been damaged.Map showing damage to buildings in GazaEven healthcare facili

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On 7 October, the Palestinian armed group Hamas launched an unprecedented attack on Israel, killing more than 1,400 people and taking scores of hostages. In response, Israel has declared war on Hamas, and launched the bloodiest offensive against Gaza for years, killing thousands of civilians and destroying residential buildings and public facilities. What is the current situation in Gaza? Last updated 7 November 2023 1. Civilians are being killed Nearly one month of relentless bombardments have brought the death toll in the Gaza Strip to 10,022, including at least 4,104 children. 2,350 people are reported missing and may be trapped under the rubble, including 1,300 children. Women and children account for 67 percent of reportedfatalities. 25,408 people are reported injured. 2. Mass destruction of homes 262,000 housing units, or 43 percent of all ihousing units in the Gaza Strip, have been either destroyed or damaged since the start of the hostilities. 3. Schools, hospitals and mosques are being bombed Over 51 percent of Gazas education facilities have been hit and 625,000 students have no access to education. 267 education facilities reportedly damaged 113 health facilities attacked 11 bakeries reportedly destroyed 16 hospitals and 32 health care center out of service At least 3 churches and 56 mosquesdamaged 4. Fuel, food and water are running out Lack of fuel has led to full electricity blackout. The only operative mill cannottransform wheat due to elctrecity outages and many bakeries have either been bombed or have been forced to shut down due to the lack of fuel. People are waiting 4-6 hoursto receive half of normal bread portion, and there is not enough water to go around. 5. Increased risk of disease People are being forced to consume water from unsafe sources. Dehydration and waterborne diseases are becoming increasingly likely, and medicine is in short supply. There are already reports of cases of chicken pox, scabies and diarrhoea due to poor sanitation conditions and the consumption of unsafe water. 6. Civilians in fear and panic They have had no voice in the hostilities, and have no safe place to go to. The endless cycle of violence has affected childrens mental health and wellbeing. 7. Half the population told to leave their homes On 13 October, the Israeli army ordered more than 1 million people half the population to leave northern Gaza within 24 hours, in advance of an imminent military ground operation. This amounts to forcible transfer and is illegal under international law and impossible to implement safely. 8. 1.5 million are displaced The number of people who have fled their homes in Gaza is estimated at about 1,5 million, or 62 percent of the total population in the Gaza Strip. Of them, some 717,000 are sheltering in 149 UNRWA facilities 9. Nowhere is safe in Gaza Despite telling Palestinians they would be safer in the south, Israel has continued to attack areas with a high civilian presence like Khan Younis and Rafah. 10. Israels siege on Gaza continues The Rafah crossing has opened to allow some aid in, but the number of trucks is nowhere near what is needed. Gaza needs at least 100 aid trucks every day. Fuel has also been excluded from the list of items entering Gaza. 526 trucks with humanitarian aid entered Gaza since 21 October. Source: UNOCHA How is NRC responding? Our teams in Gaza are currently delivering emergency cash assistance for people to purchase their essential needs. We are closely monitoring the security situation and stand ready to provide additional help, including: shelter psychological first aid for children water, hygiene and sanitation supplies Our teams, like the rest of the population in Gaza, have suffered loss, destruction and displacement. Several of our colleagues have relocated with their families. We are prioritising our teams wellbeing and are in constant contact with them to ensure that they are safe. What are we asking for? Stop all hostilities. All parties to the con

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