Nearly one month into Israel’s genocidal air attacks in the Gaza Strip, the besieged coastal enclave has turned into a “scene of death and destruction,” says the director of the main UN aid agency for Palestinian refugees.
Thomas White made the remarks during a video briefing to UN member nations on Saturday, warning that the situation in Gaza is growing even more dire.
He said he has traveled “the length and breadth of Gaza in the last few weeks” and called it a “scene of death and destruction.”
“Now people are beyond looking for bread. It’s looking for water,” White said, referring to the regime forces’ blockade of water, food, and electricity in Gaza, plunging the coastal strip into a humanitarian crisis.
In similar remarks Friday to the UN General Assembly, UNRWA Commissioner Philippe Lazzarini described the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip as “beyond comprehension” and “heartbreaking”.
“Everyone was asking for water and food. Instead of being at school to learn, children were asking for a sip of water and a loaf of bread. It was heartbreaking.”
Israeli warplanes have been pounding the Gaza Strip since the occupying regime was caught off-guard by Operation Al-Aqsa Storm by the resistance movement Hamas on October 7.
The regime has also cut off one of the most densely populated places in the world from basic supplies, like water, electricity, and fuel. Shortages of medical supplies and food have left 2.3 million Palestinians at risk of starvation.
“People in Gaza are dying – they are not only dying from bombs and strikes, soon many more will die from the consequences of [the] siege imposed on the Gaza Strip,” Lazzarini said.
The regime’s airstrikes have so far killed virtually 9,500 people, including over 3,826 children and 2,405 women.
