UN says Gaza City situation 'cataclysmic' as Israeli ground offensive advances

The situation in Gaza City is nothing short of cataclysmic, a UN official told the BBC, as Israeli tanks and troops pressed into a third day of a ground offensive. Olga Cherevko, a spokeswoman for the U.N. humanitarian office, said she had seen a constant stream of Palestinians heading south during a recent visit to the city, but that hundreds of thousands remained. Cherevko described the journey as a 29-kilometer (18-mile) round trip that took 14 hours, noting that inside Gaza City it was still crowded with civilians who had not yet left the area.

The World Health Organization warned that overwhelmed hospitals were on the brink of collapse because it was being prevented from delivering lifesaving supplies. The WHO’s chief, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said the Israeli offensive was forcing traumatised families into an ever-shrinking area unfit for human dignity, and that the injured and people with disabilities could not move to safety, putting their lives in grave danger. The UN says there are currently about 1,790 inpatient hospital beds for a 2.1 million population in Gaza, resulting in occupancy rates of 180% to 300% across the 17 hospitals that remain partially functional; ten of those hospitals are in Gaza City and one is elsewhere in northern Gaza. Hospitals faced disruptions at a time when services are most needed.

The Israeli military said its forces were dismantling terror infrastructure and eliminating terrorists in Gaza City, with the stated objective of freeing hostages and defeating up to 3,000 fighters in what it described as Hamas’s main stronghold. In a late-briefing, the army said it was expanding its operations in the city but did not provide detailed movement plans. The ground action follows days of strikes that have drawn widespread international condemnation, even as Israel argues it is targeting militants and trying to restore security for southern Israel.

International humanitarian agencies have warned of a growing refugee flow within Gaza, with the UN and its partners recording at least 200,000 people moving from the north to the south since mid-August, and about 55,000 doing so since Sunday alone. Cherevko warned that many civilians could not comply with evacuation orders to relocate to the designated humanitarian area in the south because of the high cost and logistical barriers; some leave with little more than a mattress or a plastic bag, and there is no guarantee of shelter or safety upon arrival.

Witnesses told Reuters on Thursday morning that Israeli tanks had been seen in the northern Sheikh Radwan neighborhood and the southern Tal al-Hawa, both areas that have faced heavy bombardment in recent days. They also reported that remotely driven vehicles laden with explosives had been destroyed, along with multiple houses. Local hospitals reported at least 14 people killed by Israeli fire across the Gaza Strip on Thursday, including nine in Gaza City, and there was no immediate comment from the Israeli military on those incidents. In Gaza City, the al-Rantisi children’s hospital, the territory’s only specialised pediatric facility, was struck by three Israeli strikes, damaging rooftop water tanks, electrical and communications systems, and some medical equipment. Forty patients fled for safety after the attack, while 40 others, including four children in intensive care and eight newborn babies, remained inside.

The UN Population Fund warned that women were being forced to give birth in the streets, without hospitals, doctors or clean water, highlighting the fragility of essential maternal care as the fighting continues. The conflict traces back to the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 hostages were taken. Since then, the Gaza health ministry says, at least 65,141 people have been killed in Israeli attacks in Gaza, with another 435 dying during the war as a result of malnutrition and starvation, including four in the last 24 hours.

Amid the mounting humanitarian crisis, aid agencies have urged rapid and unimpeded access to those in need, while the UN and partner organizations continue to monitor casualties, displacement, and the delivery of essential relief supplies. The situation in Gaza’s largest urban area remains fluid and volatile, with civilians bearing the brunt of a conflict that has stretched into its second decade in different forms and escalations across the region.