Palestinian president calls on UN to intervene against Israeli aggression in Gaza Strip

Abbas made the remarks on a phone call with UN Secretary-General António Guterres, according to the state news agency WAFA.

Abbas called on the UN to “immediately intervene to stop the ongoing Israeli aggression against the Palestinian people, particularly in the Gaza Strip,” WAFA reported on Monday.

The Palestinian president emphasized the urgent need for medical and relief aid in Gaza, drawing attention to the looming humanitarian crisis. He urged the UN to “uphold its responsibilities as recognized by international legitimacy and ensure protection for the Palestinian people.”

In response to Abbas’s concerns, Guterres acknowledged the UN’s continued efforts to deliver urgent humanitarian aid to the residents of Gaza. He also mentioned that the UN is actively liaising with pertinent international stakeholders to curb the current escalation, WAFA reported.

The PA was established in the Israeli-occupied West Bank in 1993 through the Oslo Accords, a peace pact between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO). It stipulated the PLO give up armed resistance against Israel in return for promises of an independent Palestinian state alongside Israel.

Gaza’s death toll has risen to 700 people, including 140 children, according to a statement by the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza. The number of injured has reached 3,700 — 10% of them children — since the Israeli strikes began.

Seventeen people have been killed and 90 are injured across various parts of the West Bank, according to a statement from the Palestinian Ministry of Health. The dead included three children, it noted.

The 17 deaths occurred in Ramallah, Jerusalem, Nablus, Jericho, Qalqilya, and Hebron.

The nature and severity of the 90 injuries vary, officials say.

Clashes erupted in several areas of the occupied West Bank amid a closure imposed by the Israeli army after the Hamas attack on Saturday morning.