This work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) warned on Wednesday that 90 percent of Gaza’s population is suffering from varying degrees of malnutrition, as Israeli restrictions continue to block essential humanitarian aid from entering the territory.
UNRWA spokesperson Adnan Abu Hasna said in a press briefing that Israeli authorities are preventing “hundreds of types of aid” from reaching the enclave, adding that no assistance has entered through the Zikim crossing in northern Gaza.
Abu Hasna cautioned that Gaza is on the verge of a major humanitarian catastrophe, particularly with the onset of winter and the widespread deterioration of makeshift tents sheltering displaced families after months of intense conflict.
His comments echo earlier warnings by Doctors Without Borders (MSF), which said that despite a ceasefire, the humanitarian situation in Gaza remains critically dire.
MSF emergency coordinator Caroline Seguin accused Israeli authorities of obstructing the entry of medical supplies, hygiene kits, shelter materials, and other essential items, describing the scale of suffering as “entirely preventable.”
Seguin said thousands of displaced people are living in overcrowded, deteriorating tents lacking water and electricity, with growing piles of waste and rising cases of skin, respiratory, and gastrointestinal diseases as temperatures drop.
READ: UNICEF says Israel blocking one million syringes needed to vaccinate Gaza children
This work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
