The U.N. said on Tuesday that Palestinian inhabitants in Gaza are being packed into an ever-smaller area and life-saving essentials have particularly run out, calling for a humanitarian cease-fire to allow aid access.
“It is now estimated that as many as 1 million people have fled their homes to other parts of Gaza”, senior U.N. assistance official Joyce Msuya told a meeting organized by Arab envoys on the enclave controlled by Hamas militants.
Israel ordered 1.1 million people in Gaza to flee to the south last week as it prepared for a ground offensive in reprisal for the biggest Hamas attack on civilians in Israel’s 75-year-old history.
“In reality, civilians have nowhere to go — nowhere to escape the bombs and missiles, and nowhere to find water or food, or to escape the unfolding humanitarian catastrophe”, Msuya said.
He called for a humanitarian suspension of hostilities.
Israel has imposed a tight embargo on Gaza and subjected it to the most intensive bombing in history. It has sworn to destroy Hamas after it killed 1,300 people and seized hostages in an attack on Israel on October 7. Approximately 3,000 Palestinians have been slain.
International diplomacy has been focused on attempting to mediate a humanitarian pause in the war near the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and Gaza in order to allow assistance delivery.
According to Egypt, Rafah has not been officially shuttered but has become inoperable due to the Israeli air strikes on the Gaza side.
“We can’t move humanitarian trucks and convoys while active bombardment is ongoing”, said United Nations spokesman Stephane Dujarric said on Tuesday.
“There are intense discussions going on, in which we’re involved, with a number of parties in order to try to get the most basic humanitarian aid in as quickly as possible”, Dujarric continued.
After nine hours of talks, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced early on Tuesday that the US and Israel had agreed to develop a plan to send aid to Gaza. He did not elaborate. On Wednesday, U.S. President Joe Biden is scheduled to visit Israel.
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is scheduled to arrive in Cairo on Thursday, while U.N. aid chief Martin Griffiths is scheduled to visit Egypt on Tuesday.
Ted Chaiban, deputy executive director of the United Nations children’s agency UNICEF, told the meeting on Tuesday that an infectious disease outbreak was possible in Gaza as water supplies ran out.
“We have a population of 2.3 million in Gaza, essentially without drinking water. We’re down to three liters per person when the normal average should be 15 litres”, Chaiban explained.
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