In a joint appeal Wednesday, the heads of UN humanitarian agencies and global non-governmental organizations (NGOs) urged world leaders to help prevent a further deterioration of the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza that has killed tens of thousands of Palestinians, mostly women and children. They also called on Israel to fulfill its legal obligation under international humanitarian and human rights law to provide food and medical supplies and facilitate relief efforts.
"Diseases are rampant. Famine is looming. Water is at a trickle. Basic infrastructure has been decimated," the humanitarian chiefs wrote. "Food production has come to a halt. Hospitals have turned into battlefields. One million children face daily traumas."
In the less than five months that followed the brutal October 7 attacks and the ensuing relentless attacks by Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), more than 29,400 Palestinians – mostly women and children – have been killed and more than injured 69,400 in the Gaza Strip, while thousands more are missing, and presumed dead.
More than three quarters of the population – some 1.7 million people - have been forced from their homes, many multiple times. Palestinians face severe shortages of food, water, sanitation and healthcare – the basic necessities to survive.
The heads of 19 United Nations agencies and partner organizations expressed their frustration in a statement, calling on Israel to "fulfill its legal obligation" to allow food and medical supplies into Gaza and facilitate relief efforts, and on world leaders to prevent an even worse catastrophe.
The UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) fully supported the statement.
UN humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths, chair of the Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) - the world’s leading consortium of humanitarian organizations - along with the heads of the World Food Programme (WFP), the World Health Organization (WHO), the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), CARE International, Mercy Corps and others, wrote that Palestinian civilians are displaced, traumatized, hungry and have little support.
“Rafah, the latest destination for well over 1 million displaced, hungry and traumatized people crammed into a small sliver of land, has become another battleground in this brutal conflict. Further escalation of violence in this densely populated area would cause mass casualties,” the statement said.
"It could also deal a death blow to a humanitarian response that is already on its knees."
Their statement came a day after the United States vetoed again a UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate cease-fire, and as the Palestinian death toll climbs toward 30,000.
"We are calling on Israel to fulfill its legal obligation, under international humanitarian and human rights law, to provide food and medical supplies and facilitate aid operations, and on the world's leaders to prevent an even worse catastrophe from happening," the humanitarian leaders said.
They said, "There is no safe place in Gaza," and their relief operation is "already on its knees," with only a few hospitals partially functioning and their staff working in unimaginable circumstances. Gaza's health system continues to be systematically destroyed, with catastrophic consequences. Only 12 of the 36 hospitals with inpatient capacity are functioning, and only partially.
“Humanitarian workers, themselves displaced and facing shelling, death, movement restrictions and a breakdown of civil order, continue efforts to deliver to those in need. But faced with so many obstacles – including safety and movement restrictions – they can only do so much,” the officials said.
They said no amount of aid will make up for the months of deprivation Gazans have endured, but they remain committed to trying to alleviate the suffering despite the dangers.
“This is our effort to salvage the humanitarian operation so that we can provide, at the very least, the bare essentials: medicine, drinking water, food, and shelter as temperatures plummet.”
The IASC leaders appealed for an immediate cease-fire, the release of the hostages, and the protection of civilians. They also called for more reliable entry points into Gaza for aid convoys, including into northern Gaza, which has been mostly cut off from aid and where famine is believed to be looming.
The UN says that the current flow is totally inadequate for the scale of the emergency. Before the war, an average of 500 trucks a day would enter Gaza with aid and commercial supplies for the 2.3 million residents.
In addition, IASC leaders said there must be an end to "campaigns to discredit the United Nations and non-governmental organizations doing their best to save lives."
The Inter-Agency Standing Committee also issued an appeal for funding for the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA). UNRWA is the backbone of the humanitarian response in Gaza, but it has faced an existential crisis in recent weeks after Israel accused a dozen of its staff of involvement in the October 7 attacks.
At least 16 countries have suspended their funding to the agency. UN Secretary-General António Guterres and the ISAC have defended the agency, both saying there is no other organization that has a presence in Gaza that could replace it.
Further information
Full text: Statement by Principals of the Inter-Agency Standing Committee - Civilians in Gaza in extreme peril while the world watches on: Ten requirements to avoid an even worse catastrophe, Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC), statement, published February 21, 2024
https://interagencystandingcommittee.org/inter-agency-standing-committee/statement-principals-inter-agency-standing-committee-civilians-gaza-extreme-peril-while-world