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Civilian needs in Gaza 'staggering' yet too 'dangerous for humanitarian organisations to operate'

Tens of thousands of Palestinians fled the fighting and bombardment in Gaza on Wednesday, as Israel said it was tightening the "stranglehold" around Hamas and again rejected a ceasefire without the release of hostages. Calls for a ceasefire to protect civilians have built over a month into the war sparked when Hamas attacked Israel and, according to Israeli officials, killed about 1,400 people, mainly civilians, and seized 239 hostages. Aiming to destroy Hamas, Israel retaliated with a relentless bombardment and ground invasion of the Gaza Strip that, according to Hamas-run Palestinian territory's health ministry, has killed more than 10,500 people, also mostly civilians. Tom Potokar, chief surgeon at the International Committee of the Red Cross who entered Gaza on October 27, described the scene at the European hospital in Khan Yunis as "relentless" and "catastrophic". "In the last 24 hours, I've seen three patients with maggots in their wounds," including a six-year-old child, he said in a telephone interview. "It's almost like you can't find somebody who hasn't lost members of their family" from among the patients and staff, he said, adding there were "cases where you see a child come in where they have nobody, they've lost their whole family." For more on the harrowing plight of civilians and humanitarian workers in Gaza, FRANCE 24's Delano D'Souza is joined by Lucile Marbeau, Deputy Communications Manager and Spokesperson for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).