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The United Nations Humanitarian Coordinator in the occupied Palestinian territories, Jamie McGoldrick, said that the situation in the Gaza Strip is catastrophic in every sense of the word, while UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell said that the scale and pace of destruction in the Strip is shocking.
McGoldrick added that Israel has recognized in recent days the enormous scale of suffering in Gaza and its ability to facilitate increased aid to those in need, and has committed to taking a number of steps in response to repeated requests from the United Nations.
He stated that the residents of Gaza have suffered indescribable pain over the past six months, noting that more than 32,000 Palestinians were killed, 75,000 were injured, and nearly two million people were forced to flee their homes, and a large number of these were displaced many times.
The UN official said that half of Gaza's population is at risk of imminent famine, and malnutrition among children has reached unprecedented levels in Gaza.
He stressed that the humanitarian community is ready to expand the provision of aid to Gaza, but this requires enhanced security, increased humanitarian access and more reliable facilitation by the Israeli authorities.
UNICEF: The pace of destruction is shocking
For her part, UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell said that the scale and pace of destruction in the Gaza Strip is shocking, calling for an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.
Yesterday, Saturday, Russell confirmed in a post on the UN account via the X platform that the Gaza war caused the death of more than 13,000 children and injured countless people.
Russell warned that famine in Gaza was imminent, stressing that homes, schools, and hospitals in the Strip were destroyed.
She said that the war had also caused the deaths of teachers, doctors and humanitarian workers.
UN and international demands have escalated for an immediate halt to the aggression against Gaza, especially with the worsening humanitarian conditions and the state of famine suffered by the residents of the Strip, especially the Gaza and North governorates, in light of the severe scarcity of food, water, medicine and fuel supplies, with the displacement of about two million Palestinians from the besieged Strip. Israel for 17 years.
The ongoing war on Gaza since October 7, 2023 has left tens of thousands of civilian victims, most of them children and women, and a famine that has claimed the lives of children and the elderly, according to Palestinian and UN statements, which led to Israel being brought before the International Court of Justice on charges of committing genocide.
Source: Al Jazeera + agencies