The United Nations has rejected remarks by Israeli Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir claiming that the "yellow line in Gaza represents the new border," emphasizing that the organization does not recognize any change to the territory's internationally accepted boundaries. "We strongly oppose any alteration to the borders of Gaza and Israel," UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said at a daily press briefing. He added that the comments run counter to both the spirit and the letter of the peace framework advanced by U.S. President Donald Trump, stressing that the UN recognizes only the established borders between Gaza and Israel. The statement comes amid a deepening humanitarian crisis. Gaza's Ministry of Health reported Wednesday that three people were killed and five wounded in the past 24 hours, bringing the death toll since the war began in October 2023 to 70,369, with 171,069 injured. Medical sources and eyewitnesses said a teenage boy from Jabalia refugee camp, Zahir Nasser Shamia, was fatally shot by Israeli forces and then run over by a tank near the so-called yellow line. According to sources who spoke with Anadolu Agency, Israeli troops had pushed into areas crowded with displaced families in Jabalia, firing heavily and blocking ambulances from reaching the critically wounded teenager. In a separate incident, a man and a woman were killed after being hit by Israeli military cranes near the Halawa camp for displaced people. As military operations continue, winter conditions are compounding the already dire humanitarian situation. The Emergency Response Operations Room in Gaza urged international agencies to deliver shelter materials immediately, warning that heavy overnight rainfall had flooded dozens of tents and destroyed the belongings of displaced families. The group said the deteriorating conditions could lead to deaths among children and the elderly, given plunging temperatures and a severe shortage of basic protection. It described the provision of shelter as "a matter of saving lives" and called for urgent coordination to reach the hardest-hit areas. Gaza's municipality issued a parallel warning, citing the collapse of key infrastructure following months of bombardment. Municipal spokesperson Husni Mehanna said seven of the city's eight main wastewater pumping stations have been destroyed, disabling roughly 90 percent of the system's capacity. As a result, the city can process only about 20 percent of rainfall, raising the risk of widespread flooding in neighborhoods overcrowded with displaced civilians. The UN has also highlighted the escalating threat posed by unexploded ordnance scattered across the strip. Julius van der Walt, head of the UN Mine Action Programme in the occupied Palestinian territories, said remnants of war are a major obstacle to restoring normal life, especially as hundreds of thousands of people begin moving around Gaza following the ceasefire. "Children are the most at risk," he said, pointing to their curiosity and limited awareness of the dangers. Regional leaders continue to press for steps toward a political solution. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said a "just and lasting peace" in Gaza requires strengthening the ceasefire and pursuing a two-state solution. He described the deaths of more than 70,000 Palestinians as a "grave violation" of the principles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. In Cairo, Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty stressed in a call with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio the need to move to the second phase of the ceasefire agreement between Hamas and Israel. He urged implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 2803, including the deployment of an international stabilization force in Gaza, the formation of a Palestinian technocratic committee to administer the strip, the safe delivery of humanitarian aid, and the reconstruction of critical infrastructure. Meanwhile, Hamas condemned Israel's approval of 764 new settlement units as "an expansionist measure" and a "serious escalation" that violates international law and UN Security Council resolutions. The group called on the international community to impose binding measures to halt settlement expansion.
