Gaza: "What we are seeing is carnage"

Children fill buckets with water in Gaza city. Photo by OCHA/Olga Cherevko

Source: OCHA

Conditions in the Gaza Strip are deteriorating rapidly. Israeli operations - including shelling and bombing across the Strip - continue to have a devastating impact on civilians, reportedly killing and injuring scores of people, many of whom were seeking aid.

Humanitarian operations of sufficient scale are not facilitated, leaving unaddressed the critical needs of those who have so far survived.

On Sunday, OCHA's Head of Office in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Jonathan Whittall briefed journalists about what he was seeing in Gaza. Read his briefing here.

"These are conditions created to kill," said Whittall, warning of a pattern where people are being killed trying to reach food.

"What we are seeing is carnage. It is weaponized hunger. It is forced displacement. It's a death sentence for people just trying to survive. All combined, it appears to be the erasure of Palestinian life from Gaza." said Jonathan Whittall, OCHA Head of Office in the Occupied Palestinian Territory

The rapid depletion of remaining fuel stocks is jeopardizing efforts to keep Gaza's lifelines up and running. Israeli authorities continue to restrict the delivery of fuel into and throughout the Strip, effectively choking off life-saving services for deprived and starving people.

To meaningfully address the massive deprivation in Gaza, the Israeli authorities must allow higher volumes of supplies and more varied types of food, as well as cooking gas, fuel and shelter items, into the Strip, and facilitate the orderly distribution of aid.

Meanwhile, caregivers warn that children are experiencing mounting psychological stress. This is driven by the deteriorating conditions, including lack of food. The UN and its partners are providing psycho-social and mental health support to children and caregivers.

Read the latest humanitarian updates from Gaza and the West Bank.