Statement by heads of OCHA, UNICEF, UNOPS, UNRWA, WFP
and WHO:
“For over a month, no
commercial or humanitarian supplies have entered
Gaza.
“More than 2.1 million people are trapped,
bombed and starved again, while, at crossing points, food,
medicine, fuel and shelter supplies are piling up, and vital
equipment is stuck.
“Over 1,000 children have
reportedly been killed or injured in just the first week
after the breakdown of the ceasefire, the highest one-week
death toll among children in Gaza in the past
year.
“Just a few days ago, the 25 bakeries supported
by the World Food Programme during the ceasefire had to
close due to flour and cooking gas shortages.
“The
partially functional health system is overwhelmed. Essential
medical and trauma supplies are rapidly running out,
threatening to reverse hard-won progress in keeping the
health system operational.
“The latest
ceasefire allowed us to achieve in 60 days what bombs,
obstruction and lootings prevented us from doing in 470 days
of war: life-saving supplies reaching nearly every part of
Gaza.
“While this offered a short
respite, assertions that there is now enough food to feed
all Palestinians in Gaza are far from the reality on the
ground, and commodities are running extremely low.
“We
are witnessing acts of war in Gaza that show an utter
disregard for human life.
“New Israeli displacement
orders have forced hundreds of thousands of Palestinians to
flee yet again, with no safe place to go.
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“No one is
safe. At least 408 humanitarian workers, including over 280
from UNRWA, have been killed since October 2023.
“With
the tightened Israeli blockade on Gaza now in its second
month, we appeal to world leaders to act – firmly, urgently
and decisively – to ensure the basic principles of
international humanitarian law are upheld.
“Protect
civilians. Facilitate aid. Release hostages. Renew a
ceasefire.”
Tom Fletcher, Under-Secretary-General for
Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief
Coordinator
Catherine Russell, Executive Director,
UNICEF
Jorge Moreira da Silva, Executive Director,
UNOPS
Philippe Lazzarini, Commissioner-General,
UNRWA
Cindy McCain, Executive Director, WFP
Dr.
Tedros Ghebreyesus, Director-General,
WHO
