The UN human rights chief said the “darkest moment” of the war in Gaza occurred in the north of the region.

“As we speak, the Israeli army is exposing an entire population to bombing, siege and starvation,” Volker Turk said.

He called on world leaders to take action, saying states had a duty to ensure respect for international humanitarian law under the Geneva Conventions.

There was no immediate response from the Israeli military, but Israel said its soldiers had killed “hundreds of terrorists” and evacuated 45,000 civilians in Jabalia since returning to the area for a third time on October 6 in an attempt to stop Hamas fighters from regrouping. There.

The head of the World Health Organization said he was deeply disturbed by reports that Israeli troops raided one of the last functioning hospitals in northern Gaza.

Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the WHO had lost contact with the Kamal Adwan hospital in Beit Lahia, which was overwhelmed with almost 200 patients during the Israeli offensive in nearby Jabalia.

Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry said Israeli troops had detained patients, staff and displaced persons, while the Israeli army said its forces were operating “in the area” based on intelligence “regarding the presence of terrorists”.

On Friday morning, Gaza’s health ministry said in a statement that Israeli forces “raided” the Kamal Adwan hospital and detained hundreds of patients, medical staff and displaced persons.

In the afternoon, the ministry said the displaced men were forced to remove their clothes and some were arrested.

The director of the hospital, Dr. It was also stated that many healthcare workers, including Hussam Abu Safiya, had not been heard from since they were called to see the Israeli forces stationed in the courtyard.

In a video posted on social media late Thursday, Dr. Abu Safiya was seen talking on the phone while walking through a crowded ward with broken windows and what appeared to be a damaged ceiling.

“Instead of getting aid, we are getting tanks. “Tanks are bombing the building,” he says.

Director of Nursing Eid Sabbah said in a voice note to Reuters news agency early on Friday: “At midnight, tanks and bulldozers of the occupation army arrived at the hospital. They (Israeli forces) started terrorizing civilians, wounded and children. They started opening fire on the hospital.”

He said that Israeli forces withdrew after a delegation from the World Health Organization (WHO) arrived with an ambulance and evacuated some patients. However, he added that the tanks then turned around and opened fire on the hospital, hitting the oxygen tanks, before soldiers stormed in and ordered staff and patients to leave.

Dr Tedros later confirmed that a WHO team arrived at the hospital on Thursday night “amid surrounding conflict” and transferred 23 patients and 26 caregivers to Al Shifa hospital in Gaza City. They also distributed blood, trauma and surgical supplies in units.

But he added that the UN agency had lost contact with hospital staff since reports of the raid emerged.

“Kamal Adwan Hospital is overflowing with nearly 200 patients; Cases of horrific trauma keep coming up. “Also, this place is full of hundreds of people looking for shelter,” he warned.

“We call for an immediate ceasefire; and the protection of hospitals, patients, healthcare workers and humanitarian workers.”

The Israeli army said in a statement that its forces were “operating in the area of ​​Kamal Adwan Hospital in Jabalia based on intelligence information regarding the presence of terrorists and terrorist infrastructure in the area.”

“In the weeks before the operation, (forces) facilitated the evacuation of patients from the area while maintaining emergency services,” the statement said.

Hundreds of Palestinians have been reported killed and tens of thousands displaced since Israeli forces returned to Jabaliya.

Residents unwilling or unable to comply with Israeli evacuation orders are said to be living in increasingly desperate conditions, with food and other basic supplies running out.

The entire population of northern Gaza has been subjected to “non-stop” bombing and hundreds of thousands have been ordered to flee with no guarantee of return, the UN human rights chief warned on Friday.

“The situation is getting unpredictably worse day by day,” Volker Türk said.

“The Israeli government’s policies and practices in the north of Gaza carry the risk of clearing the area of ​​all Palestinians. “We are facing crimes that may amount to atrocity crimes, including the potential for crimes against humanity.”

He also said it was completely unacceptable for Palestinian armed groups to operate among civilians, including in shelters for displaced persons, putting them in danger.

Turk said that countries around the world, all of which are parties to the Geneva conventions, should take immediate action to support these conventions.

“These are binding norms that are universally accepted and developed for the minimum protection of humanity. “I ask you to put the protection of civilians and human rights first and not give up this minimum of humanity,” he said.

Türk added that where there is a risk of genocide, all states are legally obliged to prevent it. Until now, senior UN figures have mostly avoided using the word genocide in relation to Gaza.

Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi called on US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to pressure Israel over the worsening humanitarian situation and mass displacement of civilians in the north.

“We look at northern Gaza and we see ethnic cleansing taking place and this must stop,” he said at the start of a meeting in London.

Many Palestinians believe the Israeli army is implementing the so-called “Generals Plan” in the north, which calls for the forced relocation of all an estimated 400,000 civilians to the south, followed by the encirclement of the remaining Hamas fighters.

The Israeli military has denied having such a plan and ensuring that civilians were not harmed.

Safadi also warned that the Middle East was “on the verge of a regional war,” adding that the situation was getting worse every time he met with Blinken: “Not because we are not trying, but because we have an Israeli government that does not listen to us.” anyone and this needs to stop.”

“The only way to save the region from this is for Israel to stop its attacks on Gaza, Lebanon, stop unilateral measures, illegal measures in the West Bank, which is pushing the situation into the abyss,” he said.

After his diplomatic trip to the Middle East, Blinken met with Arab leaders and foreign ministers in England.

The United States is believed to be working on a plan for post-conflict Gaza and is trying to gain support from Arab countries, even though progress on a ceasefire and hostage agreement for Gaza has stalled for weeks.

Blinken said he had important talks “about ending the war in Gaza and charting the path for what comes next.” He also said there was “a real sense of urgency to find a diplomatic solution” to the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Israel on Thursday said it would send the head of its Mossad intelligence agency to Doha on Sunday to meet the CIA director and Qatar’s prime minister, amid renewed efforts to restart talks on a Gaza ceasefire and the release of hostages.

This came after the Hamas delegation met with Egyptian security officials in Cairo. Hamas said there was no change in the terms of the agreement, which includes the complete withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza.

Israel launched a campaign to destroy Hamas in response to the group’s unprecedented attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, in which approximately 1,200 people were killed and 251 people were taken hostage.

More than 42,840 people have been killed in Gaza since then, according to the region’s Hamas-run health ministry.