HAMILTON, Canada

The UN warned Monday that humanitarian operations in the Gaza Strip have been paralyzed due to Israel's ongoing blockade and military attacks.

"Humanitarian operations continue to be severely constrained due to the ongoing military operations as well as the blocking of aid and commercial goods," said spokesperson Stephane Dujarric during a news conference, noting that “the blocking became total more than eight weeks ago.”

Dujarric said that aid stocks are also dwindling.

"Our partners tell us that over the weekend, 16 additional community kitchens had to close despite their efforts to adjust the menu," he noted.

He said that more kitchens are expected to close this week as food supplies run out.

"People in Gaza rely on these meals as their only consistent source of food assistance," he added, recalling that the World Food Program (WFP) announced last week that it had depleted its food stocks.

Dujarric cited ongoing concerns over worsening malnutrition and said the UN and partners have started a new food security review across Gaza.

"Since the start of the year, about 10,000 cases of acute malnutrition among children have been identified, including 1,600 cases of severe acute malnutrition," he said.

Medical supplies are also running low as the number of mass casualties grows, and critical trauma-related supplies are "running out."

Dujarric further warned that access for specialized emergency medical teams, including orthopedic and plastic surgeons, has been increasingly denied.

Meanwhile, new displacement orders issued by Israeli forces last week have disrupted education for more than 90,000 students and 2,000 teachers and restricted access to mental health and recreational support for children, he said.

Citing the UN’s humanitarian office, OCHA, he said that thousands more families are estimated to have fled in response to the latest orders.

The Israeli army renewed its assault on Gaza on March 18, shattering a Jan. 19 ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement.

More than 52,300 Palestinians, most of them women and children, have been killed in Gaza in a brutal Israeli onslaught since October 2023.

The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants last November for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.