The UN’s top humanitarian official in the Occupied Palestinian Territory warned that civilians in Gaza are being killed daily while trying to get food, water and medical care, calling the situation “weaponised hunger” and a death sentence for people just trying to survive, according to UN News. More than 400 people have died trying to reach food distribution points since Israel eased its total blockade last month.
Jonathan Whittall, who heads the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) told journalists in Deir al Balah that Israeli forces have been opening fire on crowds gathering to get food, with many distribution sites located in militarised zones. Others have been killed along access routes or while protecting aid convoys.
Gaza’s conditions keep getting worse. Water wells have dried up or sit in dangerous areas, sanitation systems have collapsed, and disease is spreading fast. Warehouses stand empty while displaced families flee with nothing and aid workers have nothing to give them. Hospitals that still work are overwhelmed by near-daily mass casualty events, with some hit directly and others choked by fuel shortages and forced evacuation orders. The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) reports more than 110 children are being treated for malnutrition every day.
Whittall said humanitarian agencies can reach every family in Gaza but are being blocked at every turn. He called the situation “carnage” that appears to be “the erasure of Palestinian life from Gaza” and urged the international community to act with a lasting ceasefire, accountability, and real pressure to stop what’s happening.
