Palestinian Envoy Warns of Imminent Massacre in Gaza amid Israeli Siege
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – The Palestinian ambassador to the United Nations warned of an impending mass slaughter in northern Gaza, as Israeli forces continue their siege, blocking aid and striking hospitals and shelters, leaving thousands of civilians at risk.
Thousands of Palestinians in northern Gaza are facing what the Palestinian ambassador to the United Nations, Riyad Mansour, has described as an “imminent massacre” as Israel maintains its weeks-long siege and bombardment, cutting off vital humanitarian aid.
In letters to UN Secretary-General António Guterres, General Assembly President Philemon Yang, and Security Council President Pascale Baeriswyl, Mansour accused Israel of committing genocide in full view of the international community. He warned that more than 470,000 people in northern Gaza are at risk of dying en masse under these conditions.
“Israel has deprived the Palestinian people in the north of essential food, water, and medicine for weeks,” Mansour stated. “It bombs hospitals, blocks civilians from medical care, and forcibly expels families to the south, despite there being no safe refuge.”
Mansour called on the Security Council to act immediately, urging them to protect civilians, enforce a ceasefire, and prevent further violations of international law.
“Ethnic cleansing and forced displacement must end,” he added, demanding the flow of humanitarian aid through UNRWA and other UN agencies to reach the besieged population.
Meanwhile, dire conditions in the Jabalia refugee camp reveal the toll of the Israeli ground offensive. Refugees who fled report bodies left on the streets after civilians were ordered to vacate a shelter.
A witness described the panic during the evacuation: “People ran so quickly that some parents left their children behind.”
B’Tselem, an Israeli human rights group, accused Israel of using the global distraction to engage in “ethnic cleansing” in northern Gaza.
“It is clearer than ever that Israel aims to forcibly displace the region's residents through acts that constitute severe war crimes,” the group stated, calling for urgent international intervention.
The group highlighted the near-total siege since Israel’s operation began on October 5, with relentless military bombardments. “They are cut off from the world, and the few testimonies that emerge tell of streets lined with bodies, hunger, and a lack of drinking water,” the statement read.
Gaza’s Ministry of Health has also issued a plea for blankets as winter approaches, noting they are being used as shrouds for the dead.
“It is very cold these days; blankets are urgently needed, yet they serve to cover the bodies of slain Palestinians as hospitals run out of shrouds,” the ministry wrote on Telegram.
The message concluded with a chilling note: “We do not need food or drink, as we will be killed soon. Please send shrouds to cover our bodies, so you won’t be repulsed by the sight of our blood and wounds.”