UN Experts Warn Of Annihilation In Gaza

(MENAFN- Gulf Times) UN experts demanded action Wednesday to avert the "annihilation" of Palestinians in Gaza, as rescuers said Israeli strikes across the territory killed dozens of people.
A planned expanded offensive revealed by the Israeli military has drawn international condemnation, after UN agencies previously warned of humanitarian catastrophe in the Palestinian territory already devastated by 19 months of war.
More than 20 independent United Nations experts said the world faced a "stark decision" to "remain passive and witness the slaughter of innocents or take part in crafting a just resolution".
The experts implored the international community to avert the "moral abyss we are descending into".
Israel's broader offensive, approved by the government amid a two-month aid blockade on Gaza, would include displacing "most" of its residents, the military has said.
France's President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday called the situation in Gaza "the most critical we have ever seen".
Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said Madrid would present a draft resolution at the UN General Assembly aimed at "proposing urgent measures to stop the killing of innocent civilians and ensure humanitarian aid" in Gaza.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer told parliament the situation in Gaza and the occupied West Bank was "increasingly intolerable".
Palestinian resistance group Hamas on Wednesday reiterated its call for a "comprehensive" agreement to end the war.
Israel demands the return of all hostages and the group's disarmament, which it has rejected as a "red line".
"There are desperate attempts ahead of (US President Donald) Trump's visit to the region... to force through a partial deal," a Hamas official said.
Trump is due in the Gulf next week.
The foreign ministers of Spain, Iceland, Ireland, Luxembourg, Norway and Slovenia in a joint statement on Wednesday said they "firmly reject any demographic or territorial change in Gaza".
UN rights chief Volker Turk voiced concerns that Israel's plans to expand its offensive aim to create conditions threatening Palestinians' "continued existence" in Gaza.
He said they "will almost certainly cause further mass displacement, more deaths and injuries of innocent civilians".Progress in talks: TrumpUS President Donald Trump said Wednesday there would be more information in the next day on a potential new proposal for a hostage release deal and ceasefire in Gaza. "A lot of talk going on about Gaza right now," Trump said at the White House. "You'll be knowing probably in the next 24 hours."

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