Palestine accuses Israel of waging 'genocidal' war in besieged Gaza

The Palestinian envoy to the United Nations has described Israel's bombardment of besieged Gaza and vow to impose a complete siege on the Palestinian enclave as "nothing less than genocidal."

Palestine's resistance group Hamas carried out their deadliest attack in Israel's history on Saturday, when fighters rampaged through Israeli illegal settlements and towns, killing more than 1,200 people and taking scores of Israelis as captives to Gaza. Israel has since then incessantly bombarded Gaza, killing some 900 Palestinians and razing entire districts as it prepares for a possible ground invasion.

Israel's Defence Minister Yoav Gallant drew international condemnation by announcing on Monday a "total blockade" to stop food and fuel reaching Gaza, home to 2.3 million people. Gallant said Israel was battling "beastly people."

"Such blatant dehumanisation and attempts to bomb a people into submission, to use starvation as a method of warfare, and to eradicate their national existence are nothing less than genocidal," Palestine's UN envoy Riyad Mansour wrote in a letter to the UN Security Council on Tuesday.

"These acts constitute war crimes," he wrote.

UNSC meeting

US national security adviser Jake Sullivan said on Tuesday that his understanding was that "the concept of siege is not something that in fact is going to be pursued by the Israeli government," adding that Washington was speaking with the Israeli government "about their actions in this regard."

Sullivan also said US President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday discussed "the difference between going full bore against Hamas terrorists and how we distinguish between terrorists and innocent civilians."

Israel's UN Ambassador Gilad Erdan on Sunday accused Hamas of war crimes and said it was time to "obliterate Hamas terror infrastructure," as the 15-member UN Security Council met behind closed-doors on the conflict.

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres on Monday said he was "deeply distressed" by Israel's announcement of a complete siege on Gaza.

"The humanitarian situation in Gaza was extremely dire before these hostilities; now it will only deteriorate exponentially," Guterres said.

The Palestinian Foreign Ministry said Israeli strikes had since Saturday destroyed more than 22,600 residential units and 10 health facilities and damaged 48 schools.

Over 260,000 people have been forced to flee their homes in Gaza, as heavy Israeli bombardments from the air, land and sea continue to hit the Palestinian enclave, the United Nations said.

Hamas fighters holding Israeli soldiers and civilians hostage have threatened to execute a captive for each home in Gaza hit without warning, but despite Israel razing sections of Gaza and more air strikes overnight there was no indication Hamas had carried out its threat.