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Manual Aslim walks through the rubble of her destroyed home in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, on Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025. (AP photo)
The heads of six UN agencies have issued a grave warning on the situation in Gaza and called for the immediate resumption of the ceasefire in the territory amid a deepening humanitarian crisis.
On Monday, UN Under-Secretary-General and UNOPS Executive Director, Jorge Moreira da Silva, joined heads of OCHA, UNICEF, UNRWA, WFP, WHO and IOM in a joint-statement on the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
The agencies warned of severe aid shortages and hunger since Israel resumed its all-out aggression on March 18th.
They said that for over a month, no commercial or humanitarian supplies have entered Gaza after Israel blocked the entry of aid trucks.
“For over a month, no commercial or humanitarian supplies have entered Gaza,” the heads of the agencies said in a press statement.
“More than 2.1 million people are trapped, bombed and starved again, while, at crossing points, food, medicine, fuel and shelter supplies are piling up, and vital equipment is stuck,” they added.
The agencies added that at least 1,000 children were killed or injured during the first week after the Israeli genocide resumed, which is the highest one-week child death toll in the past year.
Describing the humanitarian situation as unprecedented, the UN agencies said the territory is witnessing acts of war in Gaza “that show an utter disregard for human life.”
Israel unilaterally ended the Gaza ceasefire agreement and resumed its genocidal war on the people of Gaza on March 18, carrying out a wave of acts of aggression across the strip and killing hundreds of Palestinians, including over 100 children.
The death toll reached 1,391, with 3,434 others wounded, according to medical sources.
“No one is safe. At least 408 humanitarian workers, including over 280 from UNRWA, have been killed since October 2023,” the agencies said in the statement.
“With the tightened Israeli blockade on Gaza now in its second month, we appeal to world leaders to act – firmly, urgently and decisively – to ensure the basic principles of international humanitarian law are upheld,” they stated.
Meanwhile, the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) called for an independent international inquiry into the “deliberate killing” of 15 paramedics and emergency humanitarian personnel in an attack by Israeli forces in Gaza in March.
Speaking at a press conference in Ramallah on Monday, the PRCS President, Younis al-Khatib, demanded punishment for the crimes of Israel and said merely speaking of international law and the Geneva Convention is not sufficient.
Khatib said an independent international investigation commission needs “to establish the facts and hold those responsible accountable.”
