HAMILTON, Canada

The UN on Wednesday warned of a worsening humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza, as Israeli bombardments and a full aid blockade enter their second month.

Citing the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), UN spokesperson Farhan Haq said at a news conference that Israeli forces "continue to bombard areas across the Gaza Strip, with attacks hitting tents and residential buildings."

"Scores of Palestinians have reportedly been killed or injured in recent days, and civilian infrastructure has been damaged," he said.

He stressed that Israel's continued blockade "leaves more than 2 million people with severe shortages of food, water, shelter, medicine and other essential supplies."

"People in Gaza have told our partners that they are having to live near raw sewage, as close as 10 meters away," he said, citing the destruction of more than a dozen sewage trucks during recent hostilities.

Haq also reported that all UN Population Fund's (UNFPA) "supplies, which include shelter materials, hygiene items, and menstrual hygiene management kits, have been completely depleted."

Only seven hospitals and four field hospitals in Gaza are partially operational, he said, adding that there has been a significant increase in malnourished pregnant and breastfeeding women, with "most newborns are now born underweight."

In the occupied West Bank, he said OCHA recorded at least 23 settler attacks between April 15 and 26. In one case, Israeli settlers assaulted a boy and his elderly father in Masafer Yatta, inflicting life-changing injuries.