Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1509422
7 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 11 OCTOBER 2023 CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 The Israeli bombing campaign has killed more than 750 people in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run health ministry. But Israel has also imposed a total blockade of the territory, stopping elec- tricity, water and food supplies from crossing into Gaza. The UN health agency WHO said a humanitarian corridor is needed to reach people with critical supplies and that the agency is "working on this" with its partners. A spokesperson said that since before the latest crisis WHO has been provid- ing supplies, training health workers and supporting emergency response plans, but supplies pre-positioned in seven major hospitals in the Gaza Strip have now been used up. On Tuesday, Israel continued to bomb the Gaza Strip in retaliation for Hamas attacks on its territory that left more than 1,000 Israelis dead, thou- sands injured and more than 100 kid- napped. The Israeli Defence Force said it had secured all the border with Gaza after this was breached in several locations by Hamas last Saturday. However, on Tuesday, Hamas con- tinued to fire rockets from inside Gaza towards Israeli towns. Meanwhile, Israel has called up 300,000 reservist troops for an im- pending ground invasion of Gaza. UN rights chief Volker Türk said on Tuesday all parties in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories must stop targeting civilians. He also called on Hamas and other armed groups to release their hostages. The High Commissioner said that he was "deeply shocked and appalled by allegations of summary executions of civilians, and, in some instances, horri- fying mass killings by members of Pal- estinian armed groups". "It is horrific and deeply distressing to see images of those captured by Pal- estinian armed groups being ill-treat- ed, as well as reports of killings and the desecration of their bodies. Civil- ians must never be used as bargaining chips," he insisted. Türk also warned against indiscrimi- nate or disproportionate action against Gaza and expressed concern over the "full siege" of the territory ordered by the Israeli authorities on Monday. He stressed that collective punish- ment of an entire population was pro- hibited under international humanitar- ian law. Meanwhile, relatives of people be- lieved to have been taken hostage by Hamas militants have been appealing for their release. The whereabouts of hostages are unknown and Hamas has warned it will not negotiate until the battle is over. The militant group also warned it would kill hostages every time Isra- el bombed civilian locations in Gaza without warning. 'Horrific and deeply distressing'