Gaza faces 'immediate' threat of starvation

Emma Graham-Harrison

The UN has warned that Gaza’s civilians face the “immediate possibility” of starvation, amid mounting fears about Israel ’s plans to expand military operations in parts of the territory’s south where people have sought refuge.

Fuel shortages yesterday halted aid shipments and blocked communications across the strip. The UN said its trucks could not move and it could not coordinate deliveries. Palestinian operators said they could no longer power phone and internet networks.

Fuel shortages have also shut down water treatment and sewage systems, leading health authorities to warn about the spread of diseases.

Israel said its forces were consolidating control of the north as the hunt continued for a Hamas command and control centre it said was under alShifa hospital. A spokesman attacked the "impatience" of demands for proof of Hamas headquarters there.

Two days after troops entered the compound, the military published images of what it said was a tunnel entrance and weapons found in a truck in the compound, but no further evidence of Hamas activity. Israel said Hamas fighters operated from beneath the wards to use patients and doctors as human shields, and held hostages there. Hamas denied operating from the hospital and said hostages found in the area were not being held in the hospital but had been taken for treatment.

Israel's military yesterday identified a second hostage whose body it said was found near al-Shifa as a 19-year-old soldier, Cpl Noa Marciano.

Israel released satellite maps and a computer animation that claimed to detail Hamas networks and storage areas under the hospital. The US has said it has intelligence to support Israeli claims.