United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres says the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip is horrific, as Israel’s siege on the small enclave and the denial of access to humanitarian aid for its 2.2 million inhabitants continue. Meanwhile, Israeli ground operations in northern Gaza are ongoing, with troops and tanks reportedly surrounding Gaza City from multiple directions. Intense bombardments continue across the Gaza Strip, including in central and southern areas, killing hundreds of civilians every day, the majority of them are children and women.
“Now, for nearly one month, civilians in Gaza, including children and women, have been besieged, denied aid, killed, and bombed out of their homes. This must stop,” urged Guterres in a statement Friday.
Four weeks ago, the humanitarian situation of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip drastically deteriorated following attacks by the Israeli military due to atrocities committed by Palestinian armed groups in Israel. The increasing escalation of violence and the complete blockade imposed on Gaza by the Israeli government has led to a humanitarian disaster for the people of Gaza.
"The humanitarian situation in Gaza is horrific. Not nearly enough food, water and medicine are coming in to meet people’s needs. Fuel to power hospitals and water plants is running out. UNRWA [United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East] shelters are at nearly four times their full capacity and are being hit in bombardments," the Secretary-General said.
“Morgues are overflowing. Shops are empty. The sanitation situation is abysmal. We are seeing an increase in diseases and respiratory illnesses, especially among children. An entire population is traumatized. Nowhere is safe.”
Following the large-scale attack on October 7, that killed at least 1,400 Israelis and foreign nationals, the Israeli cabinet declared a state of war and the military begun launching indiscriminate and disproportionate attacks in the Gaza Strip, killing more than 9,200 Palestinians and wounding more than 23,500.
While two thirds of the fatalities are reportedly children and women, the dead include more than 3,800 children. Among those killed are at least 72 UN staff and 130 health workers. More than 2,000 people - including 1,100 children - have been reported missing and may be still trapped under the rubble. Rescue teams are unable to reach affected residential areas due to security risks, lack of equipment, and severe road damage.
At least 45 percent of all housing units in the Gaza Strip, a densely populated area, have been either destroyed or damaged since the start of the hostilities. Entire residential neighborhoods have been razed to the ground.
Guterres reiterated his earlier appeals for a humanitarian ceasefire.
“International humanitarian law must be respected. Civilians and civilian infrastructure, including humanitarian and medical workers and assets, must be protected. Essential supplies and services and unimpeded humanitarian access must be safely allowed into and across Gaza at a scale commensurate with this dramatic situation,” he said.
After two weeks of international negotiations, limited relief supplies of food, water and medicines started entering Gaza on October 21, but it has been slow, sporadic and largely insufficient to meet the rising needs.
On Friday, 47 trucks carrying humanitarian supplies crossed from Egypt into Gaza through Rafah Crossing, bringing the total number of trucks that have entered since October 21 to 421. The entry of fuel, which is desperately needed to operate life-saving equipment, remains banned by the Israeli authorities.
Prior to the current crisis, around 500 truckloads of goods moved into Gaza every day. The UN says the handful of convoys that has been allowed into Gaza up to this point is completely inadequate and “nothing” compared to the needs of some 2.2 million people trapped in Gaza.
Lynn Hastings, the Humanitarian Coordinator for the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT) briefed UN member states Friday. She said the humanitarian impact of the attacks in Gaza has been catastrophic and continues to deepen as Israeli strikes intensify.
“The number of displaced in Gaza stands now at an estimated 1.5 million, with more than 690,000 sheltering in UNRWA facilities, and other places people hope are safe, including hospitals, churches and schools. The reality is – nowhere is truly safe,” she said.
An estimated 1.5 million people – two thirds of the total population of Gaza - have been displaced due to the attacks by the Israeli military or following an Israeli evacuation order. Nearly 700,000 civilians are sheltering in 149 UNWRA installations in increasingly dire conditions. According to the UN agency, an estimated 160,000 displaced people remain in UNRWA schools in Gaza City and the northern part of the territory. UNRWA is no longer able to assist or protect them.
“For the twenty-second consecutive day, Gaza remains under a full electricity blackout, following Israel’s halt of the electricity and fuel supply to Gaza. Meanwhile, the backup generators that are essential for so many services, including hospitals, water desalination plants, food production facilities have been relying on to maintain power are one by one grinding to a halt as fuel supplies run out,” the Humanitarian Coordinator said.
Hastings noted that the health system in the Gaza Strip is overwhelmed with an influx of injuries, combined with severe shortages of supplies, personnel, electricity and water. Since the start of the hostilities, 40 percent of hospitals in Gaza (14 of 35), nearly 71 percent of primary health care clinics (51 of 72) have shut down.
“Only one of the three water supply lines from Israel is operational. Many people still only have access to brackish or saline groundwater, if at all. Access to food is becoming increasingly a concern. People are braving airstrikes to line up outside bakeries to obtain bread, a number of which have closed down due to a lack of fuel,” the Humanitarian Coordinator said.
Also Friday, the United Nations’ humanitarian agency reported that it urgently needed more money to cover the soaring costs of providing lifesaving assistance to millions of people in Gaza and the West Bank.
“The cost of meeting the needs of 2.7 million people — that is, the entire population of Gaza and 500,000 people in the occupied West Bank — is estimated to be $1.2 billion,” said Jens Laerke, spokesperson for the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
The UN Human Rights Office on Friday deplored the intensification of the fighting in northern Gaza. It said there had been a high number of casualties reported, as well as the reported use of explosive weapons in some of the most densely populated areas in Gaza.
“The last few days have seen intensive strikes by Israeli forces on Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza, with dozens of residential buildings destroyed. Similar strikes were also reported in other parts of Gaza, for example in Al Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza, with dozens of buildings reportedly destroyed,” Liz Throssell, spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, said.
“We have serious concerns that the principles of distinction and proportionality are not being respected by both sides,” she said.
On October 7, Palestinian armed groups in Gaza, including fighters from the militant Hamas group, launched thousands of rockets toward Israel and breached through a perimeter fence of Gaza at multiple locations. Members of armed groups entered into Israeli towns, communities, and military facilities near the Gaza Strip, killing and capturing Israeli forces and civilians.
More than 1,400 Israelis and foreign nationals, most of them civilians, were reportedly killed and more than 5,400 injured, most of them on October 7. Some 240 people, including Israelis and foreign nationals, are held hostage in Gaza.
Within days, Israel’s retaliatory actions have led to a humanitarian catastrophe in the densely populated Palestinian territory. The UN says the current siege imposed on Gaza is collective punishment. Under international criminal law, collective punishment is a war crime; denial of humanitarian access and humanitarian assistance can also amount to war crimes, crimes against humanity, or genocide.
Further information
Full text: Statement by the Secretary-General – on the situation in the Middle East, UN Secretary-General, released November 3, 2023
https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/sg/statement/2023-11-03/statement-the-secretary-general-%E2%80%93-the-situation-the-middle-east
Full text: Lynn Hastings, Deputy Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process and UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Remarks to Member States Briefing on the Situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, press release, published November 3, 2023
https://reliefweb.int/report/occupied-palestinian-territory/lynn-hastings-deputy-special-coordinator-middle-east-peace-process-and-un-resident-and-humanitarian-coordinator-occupied-palestinian-territory-remarks-member-states-briefing-situation-occupied-palestinian-territory