By Nadine Osman
London (The Muslim News): The United Nations has issued a series of stark warnings over the deepening humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza Strip, as Israel’s military offensive and blockade continue to cripple health services and restrict vital aid deliveries. UN agencies and international officials paint a grim picture of a region teetering on collapse, where hospitals are overwhelmed, aid access is throttled, and starvation is claiming the lives of children and the elderly.
At a UN press briefing on Friday, spokesperson Farhan Haq cited World Health Organization (WHO) data showing that 94% of hospitals in Gaza have been damaged or destroyed, with half completely out of service. “The intensification of hostilities has brought Gaza’s already weakened health system to a breaking point,” Haq said. In the past week alone, four major hospitals have been forced to suspend operations due to attacks or evacuation orders.
Haq revealed that 28 attacks on healthcare facilities were recorded in just seven days — four times the daily average—highlighting the extreme risk medical personnel and patients continue to face. Since October 2023, nearly 700 attacks on healthcare have been documented by the WHO.
On aid access, Haq said around 100 truckloads of supplies were moved to the Kareem Shalom crossing, with just 35 collected from the Palestinian side and distributed to those in need. The figures underscore the severe bottlenecks plaguing humanitarian operations.
UNRWA Commissioner-General, Philippe Lazzarini, described the trickle of aid reaching Gaza as a “needle in a haystack.” He warned that no one should be “surprised let alone shocked” by scenes of aid looting, stressing that Gaza’s population has been deprived of basics—food, water, and medicine—for over 11 weeks.
“Mothers and fathers have run out of food for their children. Older people have died due to lack of medicines,” Lazzarini said, calling for a “meaningful and uninterrupted flow” of at least 500 to 600 trucks daily—a figure that was reached during the temporary ceasefire without diversion or theft.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres delivered an even more sobering message, condemning what he called “atrocious levels of death and destruction” and describing the aid entering Gaza as a mere “teaspoon” compared to the flood that is urgently needed. “Palestinians in Gaza are enduring what may be the cruellest phase of this cruel conflict,” he said during a press conference at the UN headquarters in New York.
Guterres pointed out that although nearly 400 trucks have been cleared through Kareem Shalom, only the contents of 115 have reached those in need. He criticised the Israeli government’s strict limitations on vital supplies, including fuel, shelter materials, cooking gas, and water purification equipment, and highlighted unnecessary delays and quotas that continue to obstruct aid delivery.
In Europe, condemnation was echoed by Saskia Kluit, the Dutch rapporteur for the Council of Europe’s Parliamentary Assembly. In a strongly worded statement, she warned that the ongoing humanitarian crisis and aid blockade in Gaza may amount to “ethnic cleansing and genocide.” Kluit, who is leading the Assembly’s investigation into the plight of women, children, and hostages in Gaza, said the blockade—intensified since March 2—has left children particularly vulnerable to “systematic violence.”
“This massacre is manmade and an enormous tragedy for our shared humanity as we allow it to unfold unhindered before our eyes,” she said. “Without food, clean water, medical care, and safe shelter, children’s right to life is being denied.”
According to Gaza’s Health Ministry, 29 children and elderly people have recently died from starvation, with thousands more at risk. The ministry and UN agencies warn that the current aid levels are wholly inadequate to meet even the most basic needs of Gaza’s population.
At the same time, at least 53,822 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s indiscriminate bombings since October 2023, the Health Ministry said on Friday.
A ministry statement said that 60 bodies were brought to hospitals in the last 24 hours, while 185 people were injured, taking the number of injuries to 122,382 in the Israeli onslaught.
“Many victims are still trapped under the rubble and on the roads as rescuers are unable to reach them,” it added.
As the crisis deepens, international pressure continues to mount for an immediate ceasefire, unfettered humanitarian access, and a fundamental shift in how aid is delivered and protected in one of the world’s most devastated regions.
[Photo: Close relatives of Palestinians killed by Israeli indiscriminate bombings mourn as they find their bodies at the Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis, Gaza on May 23, 2025. Photojournalist: Abed Rahim Khatib/AA]
