The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) announced on Friday that it has suspended its humanitarian aid operations in northern Gaza, citing security concerns and lack of access.
UNRWA, which provides relief, health, and education services to more than 5.6 million Palestinian refugees across the region, said it was unable to reach the most vulnerable people in the northern part of the Gaza Strip, where Israeli forces have been conducting a ground offensive since November.
According to UNRWA, more than 350,000 people have been displaced from their homes in northern Gaza, and many of them are living in overcrowded and unsanitary conditions in UN-run schools and other shelters. The agency said it has received reports of children dying from malnutrition and starvation, as well as outbreaks of diseases such as typhoid and cholera.
UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini said the situation in northern Gaza was “apocalyptic” and urged all parties to the conflict to respect international humanitarian law and allow safe and unhindered access for humanitarian workers and supplies.
“We are witnessing a humanitarian catastrophe of unprecedented scale and severity in Gaza. The people there are trapped, terrified, and desperate for help. We cannot stand by and watch them suffer. We need an immediate ceasefire and a humanitarian corridor to deliver life-saving assistance to those in need,” he said in a statement.
UNRWA also expressed concern about the resurgence of Hamas, the militant Palestinian group that controls Gaza, in areas that were previously cleared by Israeli troops. The agency said Hamas has been regrouping in northern Gaza and preparing a new offensive against Israel, while also imposing its authority and taxation on the local population.
Israel launched its military operation in Gaza on 7 October, after Hamas killed more than 1,400 people in Israel and kidnapped more than 200 others in a series of rocket attacks and cross-border raids. Israel said its goal was to destroy Hamas’s military infrastructure and restore security to its citizens. Since then, more than 29000 people have been killed in Gaza, mostly civilians, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.
The international community has been calling for an end to the violence and a political solution to the long-standing Israeli-Palestinian conflict. However, the US, Israel’s main ally, has been reluctant to support a full-fledged ceasefire, arguing that it would allow Hamas to regroup and rearm. Instead, the US has been pushing for humanitarian pauses in the fighting, and sending its Secretary of State Antony Blinken to the region to meet with leaders from Lebanon, Qatar, Jordan, and Turkey.