Increased violence in the Gaza Strip and southern Israel have claimed the lives of 108 Palestinians with 229 injured and three Israelis killed with 24 injured, a senior UN official said Wednesday. Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs B. Lynn Pascoe briefed the council on the crisis in Gaza during the Security Council's consultations on the Middle East Wednesday. Pascoe referred to the month of January as “a month of heavy bloodshed.” He said the escalated violence and humanitarian situation has “underscored the gap between the aspirations of the political process and the grim realities of the situation on the ground.” Amidst continued violence, John Holmes, UN undersecretary general for humanitarian affairs, warned last Friday of a looming humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip from Israel's Karni border crossing closure and emphasized that there has been an escalation of violence in recent days than in December that is making humanitarian efforts in Gaza difficult. Israel's Supreme Court permitted Israel's fuel and electricity cuts in September on Wednesday, Pascoe said. Pascoe also said that Palestinians are resorting to buying goods in Egypt rather than in Gaza since they are “mostly unavailable” as a result of the crossing closure. --MORE
