UN warns famine continues to worsen in Gaza as Israel blocks food aid missions

HAMILTON, Canada

The UN on Monday raised alarm over the worsening humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip as Israeli military operations continue across the enclave.

Citing the Office of the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric reported at a news conference that "as Israeli military operations continue across the Gaza Strip, the Palestinian civil defense said that over the last 10 days, it carried out more than 50 rescue and recovery missions."

Pointing to the worsening food insecurity due to ongoing Israeli attacks, Dujarric said: "Hostilities have disrupted nutrition services in Gaza Governorate, where famine was confirmed over one month ago."

"Partners working in nutrition report that almost half of the treatment centers are reportedly closed," he said, adding that it "hampers efforts to detect new cases and maintain treatment of hundreds of children."

Regarding Israel's restrictions on humanitarian access across Gaza, Dujarric said: "Today, seven out of 12 humanitarian missions coordinated with Israeli authorities were facilitated, while our teams managed to collect health supplies from Kareem Shalom. Two missions to retrieve food cargo were denied."

He warned that "desperate families are leaving Gaza City, with many moving towards Khan Younis and Deir al-Bala in the south, where there is very little space to accommodate new arrivals."

Emphasizing that "displacement sites are already overcrowded" due to repeated Israeli evacuation orders, Dujarric reiterated the "desperate" need for humanitarian support for the Gazans in the north.