Israeli forces are blocking humanitarian missions aimed at rescuing people who are trapped under the rubble due to Israeli strikes in north Gaza, the UN has reported. The development comes as Israel wages a horrific ethnic cleansing campaign in the north that has killed hundreds of Palestinians so far.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in the occupied Palestinian territory said on Sunday that it has been requesting that Israel grant them access to north Gaza for days so that workers can reach the dozens of people buried alive under the rubble. Those trapped are likely to die if Israel continues denying access, the group said.

The blockade is part of Israel’s plan, known as the “Generals’ Plan,” to empty the entirety of north Gaza of Palestinians, either by death or forced displacement. According to Al Jazeera, medical sources in Gaza say that the Israeli military has killed at least 640 Palestinians in north Gaza over the past 17 days of its mass killing and starvation campaign.

Over the weekend, pictures and videos emerged showing Israeli forces rounding up crowds of Palestinians from Jabalia refugee camp and forcing them to leave, which some have labeled as a “death march.” There is nowhere for displaced people to go; Lazzarini has reported that UN shelters in the region are so overcrowded that people are being forced to take shelter in bathrooms.

The UN Human Rights Office has expressed concern that Israel is aiming to exterminate the Palestinian population of north Gaza.

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