The interim head of the UN’s humanitarian agency said Gaza is witnessing “acts reminiscent of the gravest international crimes.” Charities also accused Israel of not allowing enough aid into the territory.
A top UN official condemned the humanitarian situation in Gaza, describing “acts reminiscent of the gravest international crimes” as Israel continues its daily bombardment of the territory.
Joyce Msuya, interim chief of the UN humanitarian agency OCHA, addressed the Security Council, describing Palestinian civilians driven from their homes and “forced to witness their family members killed, burned and buried alive” in Gaza.
“Shelters, homes and schools have been burned and bombed to the ground,” Msuya said.
“Numerous families remain trapped under rubble because fuel for digging equipment is being blocked by the Israeli authorities and first responders have been blocked from reaching them.”
Msuya said hospitals had been attacked and ambulances destroyed, adding that “the daily cruelty we see in Gaza seems to have no limits.”
The Security Council meeting that Msuya addressed was focused on a recent UN-backed report that warned of “an imminent and substantial likelihood of famine” in Gaza.
Israel’s UN ambassador Danny Danon called the report’s claims “baseless and slanderous.” He accused the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification network, which was responsible for the famine alert, of prioritizing “smearing Israel over actually helping those in need.”
