‘Cataclysmic’ scenario in Gaza Metropolis, UN official says, as Israeli tanks advance

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The scenario in Gaza Metropolis is "nothing in need of cataclysmic", a UN official has informed the BBC, as Israeli tanks and troops proceed to advance on the third day of a floor offensive.

Olga Cherevko, a spokeswoman for the UN's humanitarian workplace, stated she had seen a relentless stream of Palestinians heading south throughout a latest go to to the town, however that a whole bunch of hundreds remained.

The World Well being Group (WHO) warned that overwhelmed hospitals have been getting ready to collapse as a result of it was being prevented from delivering lifesaving provides.

The Israeli army stated its forces have been "dismantling terror infrastructure and eliminating terrorists" in Gaza Metropolis.

It has stated its aims are to free the hostages nonetheless held by Hamas and defeat as much as 3,000 fighters in what it has described because the group's "foremost stronghold".

Nonetheless, the offensive on Gaza's greatest city space, the place a million individuals have been residing and a famine was confirmed final month, has drawn widespread worldwide condemnation.

The UN and its humanitarian companions have recorded not less than 200,000 individuals crossing from northern to southern Gaza since mid-August, when Israel introduced its intention to beat Gaza Metropolis. Round 55,000 have made the journey since Sunday.

Cherevko, who works for the UN humanitarian workplace within the central metropolis of Deir al-Balah, informed the BBC she travelled to Gaza Metropolis two days in the past - a 29km (18 mile) round-trip that took 14 hours.

"The issues there, and the scenes on the way in which to Gaza Metropolis, are nothing in need of cataclysmic," she recalled.

"A relentless stream of individuals [are] crossing from the north to the south, many on foot. Inside Gaza Metropolis, it's extremely crowded nonetheless as a result of there are a whole bunch of hundreds of civilians nonetheless remaining there."

She stated she additionally witnessed a number of Israeli strikes "very shut" to the UN convoy whereas in Gaza Metropolis, including: "It was actually only a fixed hit after hit whereas we have been there."

On Thursday morning, witnesses informed Reuters information company they'd seen Israeli tanks within the northern Sheikh Radwan neighbourhood and the southern neighbourhood of Tal al-Hawa, which have come beneath heavy bombardment in latest days.

Additionally they reported that Israeli forces had blown up remotely pushed automobiles laden with explosives in each areas, destroying many homes.

Native hospitals stated not less than 14 individuals had been killed by Israeli hearth throughout the Gaza Strip on Thursday, together with 9 in Gaza Metropolis.

The Israeli army stated in a press release that its troops have been "increasing" their operations within the metropolis, with out giving any particulars about their actions.

At the beginning of the bottom assault on Tuesday, the army's chief of employees, Lt Gen Eyal Zamir, informed troops to "intensify the blows towards Hamas and to decisively defeat the Gaza Metropolis brigade, with a purpose to perform probably the most ethical and necessary obligation - the return of all of the hostages residence and the dismantling of Hamas's army and governing capabilities".

Cherevko warned that many individuals have been unable to adjust to the Israeli army's order to evacuate to its designated "humanitarian space" within the south.

"The expense of transferring your belongings, in case you are fortunate sufficient to discover a car that may transfer them, is exorbitant. It is not reasonably priced for many individuals. And that is why many are doing this on foot, with barely a mattress of their fingers and possibly a plastic bag."

And as soon as they arrived there have been no ensures of shelter or security, she added.

"I spoke to lots of people who've lately arrived in Deir al-Balah and [the southern city of] Khan Younis. A lot of them are sitting on the aspect of the road, with nothing. They haven't any shelter. They do not know the place to go.

"Yesterday, I met a household who had been strolling round for 4 days, looking for area to sleep and so they did not handle," she stated.

<img sizes="(min-width: 1280px) 50vw, (min-width: 1008px) 66vw, 96vw" srcset="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/240/cpsprodpb/5a07/live/763997a0-9491-11f0-84c8-99de564f0440.jpg.webp 240w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/320/cpsprodpb/5a07/live/763997a0-9491-11f0-84c8-99de564f0440.jpg.webp 320w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/5a07/live/763997a0-9491-11f0-84c8-99de564f0440.jpg.webp 480w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/640/cpsprodpb/5a07/live/763997a0-9491-11f0-84c8-99de564f0440.jpg.webp 640w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/800/cpsprodpb/5a07/live/763997a0-9491-11f0-84c8-99de564f0440.jpg.webp 800w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1024/cpsprodpb/5a07/live/763997a0-9491-11f0-84c8-99de564f0440.jpg.webp 1024w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1536/cpsprodpb/5a07/live/763997a0-9491-11f0-84c8-99de564f0440.jpg.webp 1536w" src="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/5a07/live/763997a0-9491-11f0-84c8-99de564f0440.jpg.webp" loading="lazy" alt="Reuters Displaced Palestinians from northern Gaza sit beneath a makeshift shelter on a roadside in central Gaza (18 September 2025)" class="sc-86c96223-0 fHZDyi"/> Reuters Many displaced households who've fled southwards are having to sleep on roadsides

The WHO's chief, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, stated the Israeli offensive was "forcing traumatised households into an ever-shrinking space unfit for human dignity".

"The injured and folks with disabilities can't transfer to security, which places their lives in grave hazard," he wrote on X.

"Hospitals, already overwhelmed, are getting ready to collapse as escalating violence blocks entry and prevents [the] WHO from delivering lifesaving provides."

The UN says there are at the moment about 1,790 in-patient hospital beds for the two.1 million inhabitants of Gaza, leading to occupancy charges of 180 to 300% throughout the 17 hospitals that stay partially practical throughout the territory.

Ten of these hospitals are in Gaza Metropolis and one is elsewhere in northern Gaza.

On Tuesday, al-Rantisi youngsters's hospital in Gaza Metropolis - the one specialised paediatric hospital left within the territory - was hit by three Israeli strikes, inflicting injury to rooftop water tanks, electrical and communication programs and a few medical gear, in response to Gaza's Hamas-run well being ministry.

Forty sufferers fled for security following the assault, whereas 40 others, together with 4 youngsters within the intensive care and eight new child infants, stay inside.

The Israeli army has not but commented.

The UN Inhabitants Fund in the meantime warned that ladies have been being compelled to offer delivery within the streets, with out hospitals, medical doctors or clear water.

The Israeli army launched a marketing campaign in Gaza in response to the Hamas-led assault on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, through which about 1,200 individuals have been killed and 251 others have been taken hostage.

At the least 65,141 individuals have been killed in Israeli assaults in Gaza since then, in response to the territory's well being ministry.

The ministry says one other 435 individuals have up to now died through the warfare because of malnutrition and hunger, together with 4 over the previous 24 hours.