‘City of ghosts': UNRWA says shocked by extent of Gaza devastation as death toll rises

The Israeli military has conducted new round of air and drone strikes on the Gaza Strip, killing at least 47 Palestinians as UNRWA say Gaza has turned into “a city of death and ghosts”.

The Wafa news agency reported on Monday that 26 of the victims lost lost their lives in Israeli aerial assaults on areas west of Rafah in southern Gaza.

The occupying regime’s warplanes also targeted a home in the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza, killing three civilians and injuring two others, the report added.

An Israeli drone attack killed two civilians and wounded several more at a house in the al-Tuffah neighborhood in Gaza City.

Additionally, the report said, the Gaza neighborhoods of al-Daraj and Sheikh Radwan were bombed by Israeli fighter jets.

Meanwhile, Israeli artillery attacks hit the city of Jabalia and areas south of Gaza City, including Juhor ad-Dik.

Israel waged a genocidal war on the besieged Gaza on October 7 after the Palestinian Hamas resistance group carried out a historic operation against the usurping entity in retaliation for its intensified atrocities against the Palestinian people.

The Tel Aviv regime has so far killed at least 34,535 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and injured 77,704 others.

It is now threatening an all-out military offensive against Rafah, home to around 1.5 million Palestinians who have been displaced due to the Gaza onslaught.

Gaza ‘city of death and ghosts’: UNRWA chief

Meanwhile, the head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) said in a social media post that, Gaza, which was once “vibrant”, has turned into “a city of death and ghosts”.

“Rebuilding is not just about brick and stone, it’s about healing and overcoming,” Philippe Lazzarini said.

“The longer the war, the further away we are pushed from that.”

Egypt says ‘hopeful’ about Gaza truce

Also on Monday, Egypt’s Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said he was “hopeful” about a new proposal for a ceasefire in Gaza.

“There is a proposal on the table (and it’s) up to the two sides to consider and accept,” he said in Riyadh at the World Economic Forum.

“We are hopeful,” he noted, adding that the latest truce offer “has taken into account the positions of both sides and has tried to extract moderation”.

Speaking at the same forum, British Foreign Secretary David Cameron said the proposal included a sustained 40-day ceasefire and the release of potentially thousands of Palestinian abductees in the occupation jails in exchange for the Israeli captives being held in Gaza.

A Hamas delegation traveled to Cairo on Monday, where it is expected to discuss a Gaza ceasefire agreement with representatives from Egypt and Qatar.

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