The humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip is “beyond catastrophic”, the United Nations warned on Thursday.
According to UN spokesman Stéphane Dujarric, more than 1 million people in southern and central Gaza have not received any food rations through humanitarian means in August.
“Despite the challenges we face, the UN and other humanitarian organizations continue to do everything they can to provide life-saving assistance to Palestinians,” he said.
Between August 19 and the end of the month, 450,000 meals prepared in 130 kitchens were distributed to families in the Strip every day.
“It is worth reiterating that the humanitarian situation in Gaza remains catastrophic and we still do not have all the conditions in place to support people on the scale they really need,” Dujarric said.
Several evacuation orders were issued by Israeli security services, forcing 70 kitchens to close or relocate.
For the second month in a row, supplies were insufficient to meet needs, meaning families in central and southern Gaza would receive only one food parcel.
Dujarric added that 11 months after the war began, international media were still not allowed into Gaza to report on the humanitarian consequences.
In the West Bank, Israeli forces continued to use “deadly war tactics,” Dujarric said, citing reports from the UN emergency agency OCHA.
“Medical facilities have been under virtual siege for over a week and severe restrictions have been imposed on the movement of ambulances and medical personnel,” he said.
“OCHA also warns that this increases people’s humanitarian needs and increases insecurity, and raises concerns about excessive use of force.”
Israel is blockading and bombarding large parts of the Gaza Strip in a war that began after the Palestinian militant group Hamas launched unprecedented attacks on Israel on October 7, killing more than 1,200 people.
More than 40,000 people have been killed in the Palestinian territory since the war began, according to the Hamas-controlled health authority in Gaza.
