'18,000 children killed in Gaza so far': Senior UN official says Netanyahu's takeover plan risks 'another calamity'

The United Nations Security Council held an emergency meeting on Sunday (August 10) to discuss the developing situation in Gaza ahead of Benjamin Netanyahu's plan to take over the strip. Speaking at the meeting, Head of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Geneva, Ramesh Rajasingham, said that over 61,000 people have been killed in the region by the Israeli occupation, including 18,000 children. He said around 50 Israeli hostages are in captivity by the Palestinian terror group Hamas. More than 500 humanitarian workers have been killed, and the condition of humanitarian aid is "horrific" in the strip. He said that Israel's plan to take full control of the region will risk "another calamity."

"If these plans are implemented, they will likely trigger another calamity in Gaza, reverberating across the region and causing further forced displacements, killings and destruction, compounding the unbearable suffering of the population," Miroslav Jenca, UN Assistant Secretary-General for Europe, Central Asia and the Americas, said.

Moreover, the UK representative in the meeting said that the plan will deepen the Palestinian people's suffering. "This Israel plan will bring nothing to rescue the hostages; rather, it will create more risk for the hostages," the representative said.

The Danish representative "fully rejected" the plan of Netanyahu by calling it completely against international law. She said that the entire region is facing a famine-like situation. She also demanded an investigation into the situation. The representative asked for the return of UN-led humanitarian aid into the strip.

"Denmark firmly condemns the heinous terrorist attack of October 7 by Hamas. There can be no justification for that. However, Israel's response must be exercised in compliance with international law," the representative said.