HAMILTON, Canada

A senior UN official said Wednesday that 294 Palestinians have been killed by Israel while attempting to collect humanitarian aid in the Gaza Strip since June 30.

"I brief you today as intensive talks continue over a potential Gaza ceasefire agreement and release of hostages," Khaled Khiari, UN assistant secretary-general for the Middle East and Asia and the Pacific, told the Security Council.

He said the situation in Gaza "continues to deteriorate, with Israeli military operations and hostilities expanding throughout the Strip and the human toll mounting by the hour."

"This nightmare of historic proportions must end immediately," he said.

Citing the Ministry of Health in Gaza, Khiari said at least 1,891 Palestinians have been killed since his last briefing on June 30. He said 294 were killed "while attempting to collect aid, including in the vicinity of militarized aid distribution sites."

Khiari said it is "long past time for the fighting to end, for adequate humanitarian aid to enter the Strip, and for recovery and reconstruction to begin in the context of a return to a political path towards a two-state solution."

He further stressed that repeated Israeli evacuation orders "causing the repeated displacement of the population," and warned that "any forced displacement of the population from any part of the occupied Palestinian territory will constitute a breach of international law."

"International humanitarian law must be respected by all parties at all times, and civilians must be protected," Khiari added.

He described a "deeply concerning" situation in the occupied West Bank, marked by intensified illegal Israeli settler attacks and Israeli military raids, and urged Israel to stop withholding $2.7 billion in tax revenues from the Palestinian Authority, which has severely hampered its ability to provide essential services.

Reiterating UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres' warning that the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) "cannot be replaced," he said the agency faces a critical funding shortfall beyond August.

"There will be no lasting solution to this crisis without a political horizon to resolve the conflict and an end to the occupation," he said, welcoming an upcoming ministerial meeting on a two-state solution.

On Syria, Khiari said it is witnessing a new wave of violence that threatens an already fragile path toward peace.

He told the Council that recent clashes in Suwayda have resulted in "hundreds of casualties, including Druze and Bedouin civilians," and stressed the urgent need to prevent further escalation.