Top UN officials demanded on Monday “an end to the appalling human suffering and humanitarian catastrophe” in Gaza nearly one year into the Israeli war on the enclave.
“These atrocities must end,” UN officials said in a statement signed by the heads of UN agencies, including UNICEF and the World Food Program, along with other aid groups, as world leaders gathered in New York for the annual UN General Assembly.
“Humanitarians must have safe and unimpeded access to those in need,” they said. “We cannot do our jobs in the face of overwhelming need and ongoing violence.”
The UN complained of obstacles to getting aid into Gaza during the war and distributing it amid “total lawlessness” in the besieged Palestinian enclave, noting that nearly 300 humanitarian aid workers, more than two-thirds of them U.N. staff, have been killed.
“The risk of famine persists with all 2.1 million residents still in urgent need of food and livelihood assistance as humanitarian access remains restricted,” the U.N. officials said. “Healthcare has been decimated. More than 500 attacks on health care have been recorded in Gaza.”
Since last Oct. 7, the Israeli occupation army has continued its brutal offensive on the Gaza Strip, despite a UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate cease-fire.
An ongoing blockade of Gaza has led to severe shortages of food, clean water, and medicine, leaving much of the region in ruins.
Israel faces accusations of genocide at the International Court of Justice, which has ordered a halt to military operations in the southern city of Rafah, where over one million Palestinians had sought refuge before the area was invaded on May 6.
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