Israeli war in Gaza 'staining humanity', says UN on eve of 100th day

The United Nations said the Israeli war on Gaza is "staining humanity" on the eve of its 100th day as the brutal assault has unleashed a humanitarian crisis in the besieged enclave.

Since October 7, Israel vowed to destroy Palestinian resistance group Hamas in Gaza and launched a relentless bombardment that has killed at least 23,843 people, mostly women and children, according to Palestinian health officials.

An Israeli siege has sparked acute shortages of food, water, medicine and fuel in Gaza, where the health system is collapsing.

Visiting Gaza, the head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, Philippe Lazzarini, said "the massive death, destruction, displacement, hunger, loss and grief of the last 100 days are staining our shared humanity".

An entire generation of children in Gaza were being "traumatised", diseases were spreading and the clock is "ticking fast towards famine", he warned.

'No one will stop us'

The Hague-based International Court of Justice this week heard arguments in a case launched by South Africa -- and welcomed by Palestinians in Gaza -- accusing Israel of breaching the UN Genocide Convention.

The case seeks a halt to the military offensive, which Israel stressed to the court was in "self-defence" and not aimed at Palestinian residents.

"No one will stop us -- not The Hague, not the Axis of Evil and no one else," Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu told a televised press conference, referring to the Iran-aligned "axis of resistance" groups in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Yemen.

"It is possible and necessary to continue until victory and we will do it," he added, claiming most Hamas battalions in Gaza had been "eliminated".

'Devastating repercussions'

An AFP reporter in Rafah said telecommunications had been partially restored, a day after Gaza's main operator Paltel reported the latest outage.

Paltel did not immediately confirm the service restoration but said an Israeli strike killed two of its employees in Khan Yunis while they were repairing the network.

Winter rains have exacerbated the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza, where the UN estimates 1.9 million -- nearly 85 percent of the population -- have been displaced.

Many have sought shelter in Rafah and other southern areas where the Palestinian health ministry in Gaza says there isn't the infrastructure to support them.

The health ministry spokesman accused Israel of "deliberately targeting hospitals... to put them out of service", warning of "devastating repercussions".

Hospitals, protected under international humanitarian law, have repeatedly been hit by Israeli strikes in Gaza since the war erupted.

Fewer than half of Gaza's hospitals are functioning and those only partly, the World Health Organization says.