U.N. agencies and NGOs that have been providing humanitarian aid in the Gaza Strip issued an urgent joint statement.
The statement expressed a strong sense of crisis, saying, ``Disease is rampant in Gaza and famine is looming. Hospitals have also become battlefields'' The Israeli military continues to carry out airstrikes and ground operations in the northern and central parts of the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip. American media are reporting that Director Burns of the American CIA will soon visit France and hold discussions with high-ranking officials.