UN agency chiefs call northern Gaza situation ‘apocalyptic’
The unfolding situation in the northern Gaza Strip is “apocalyptic,” said United Nations chiefs on Friday, warning that its entire population was at “imminent risk” of death.
They said the entire Middle East region was now on a precipice and called for an immediate cessation of hostilities.
Israel launched a major air and ground assault in northern Gaza last month, claiming that it wanted to stop Hamas fighters from regrouping there.
“The situation unfolding in North Gaza is apocalyptic,” said the joint statement from heads of organizations that form the UN Inter-Agency Standing Committee.
“The area has been under siege for almost a month, denied basic aid and life-saving supplies while bombardment and other attacks continue. Just in the past few days, hundreds of Palestinians have been killed, most of them women and children, and thousands have once again been forcibly displaced.
“The entire Palestinian population in North Gaza is at imminent risk of dying from disease, famine and violence.”
They urged all parties fighting in the besieged Palestinian territory to protect civilians, and called on Israel “to cease its assault on Gaza and on the humanitarians trying to help.”
“Humanitarian aid cannot keep up with the scale of the needs due to the access constraints. Basic, life-saving goods are not available. Humanitarians are not safe to do their work and are blocked by Israeli forces and by insecurity from reaching people in need,” they said.
“Humanitarian relief must be facilitated, and we urge all parties to provide unimpeded access to affected people,” while hospitals “should not turn into battlegrounds.”
The statement was signed by the heads of the UN humanitarian, health, food, rights, migration, refugee, development, children and women’s agencies, among others.
“The entire region is on the edge of a precipice. An immediate cessation of hostilities and a sustained, unconditional cease-fire are long overdue,” they said.
Gaza’s Health Ministry said on Saturday that at least 55 people were killed and 192 others injured across Gaza in just 24 hours.
Israel’s genocide in Gaza has killed at least 43,314 Palestinians and wounded 102,019 since October 7, 2023.
At least 25 towns and villages in Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley also came under heavy Israeli air attacks on Friday, killing dozens of people.
At least 2,897 people have been killed and 13,150 wounded in Israeli attacks against Lebanon since the war on Gaza began, with 30 people killed across the country in 24 hours, the Lebanese Health Ministry said on Saturday.