The international community has lost its “moral compass” on war-ravaged Gaza, United Nations Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed said Tuesday. “For me, of great concern is that we have lost our moral compass on Gaza, as a humanity, as the international community,” Mohammed told a news conference. “We need to do something about that fast — we’re late,” she added. “There are thousands of children that continue to lose their lives, that live amputated. There are hundreds that we are waiting to come home, hostages.” According to an AFP count based on official Israeli data, 1,170 individuals, largely civilians, lost their lives in Hamas’s October 7 onslaught against Israel, which set off the Gaza war.
In addition, over 250 Israeli and foreign prisoners were taken by Hamas; 129 of them are being held captive in Gaza, 34 of whom the Israeli army claims are dead.
According to the health ministry operated by Hamas in the besieged Palestinian enclave, Israel’s retaliatory bombing and ground offensive in Gaza have killed at least 33,175 individuals in the six months since then, the majority of them being women and children.
Although UN chief Antonio Guterres has called for a humanitarian truce and the release of Hamas hostages, Mohammed did not specify the precise actions she is advocating for.
