The leaders of three key UN organizations issued a warning on Monday, saying that Gaza desperately needs additional supplies or its desperate people will face widespread starvation and disease. This came as authorities in the enclave announced that the number of people killed in the Israel-Hamas war had topped 24,000.
The UN agency chiefs stated that the opening of insufficient border crossings and the sluggish approval process for vehicles and cargo entering Gaza impede humanitarian distribution, without explicitly criticizing Israel.
Following the Islamist group’s October 7 attack on southern Israel, Israel launched its war in Gaza, resulting in enormous destruction in the small coastal enclave and a humanitarian crisis that has driven the majority of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents into hunger, according to the UN.
The World Food Program, UNICEF, and the World Health Organization declared that new entry routes into Gaza must be opened, more trucks must be permitted in each day, and aid workers and those seeking aid must be able to move around safely, a day after the White House declared that it was time for Israel to halt its military offensive.
“People in Gaza risk dying of hunger just miles from trucks filled with food,” WFP Executive Director Cindy McCain averred. “Every hour lost puts countless lives at risk.”
