UN Official Highlights Gaza Crisis Amidst Ceasefire

Gaza. United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Tom Fletcher, stated that even after six months of ceasefire, the Gaza Strip faces a severe crisis for Palestinians, who are experiencing insecurity and lack of access to clean water, healthcare, and education. 

Speaking at a United Nations Security Council session, Fletcher said that amidst the agreement between the United States and Iran and hopes for an immediate ceasefire in Lebanon, attention must be paid to the problems in Gaza. Recalling the killing of about 60 aid workers in three years of war, he said that the Gaza Strip is the most dangerous place in the world to deliver aid.

The UN Under-Secretary-General stated that 70 percent of Gaza's population needs adequate shelter, and the situation of the people is worsening as not a single hospital is fully operational. He mentioned that Israeli occupation forces are causing the most obstruction in the entry of generators, engine oil, and spare parts.

UN officials have urged to open all border crossings of Gaza and remove Israeli restrictions on essential supplies. He also called for exempting humanitarian aid from border restrictions, providing long-term visas to humanitarian workers, resuming camps coordinated by the Jordanian and Palestinian governments, and expanding medical evacuations.

After the ceasefire, although the famine situation in Gaza has eased somewhat, it is said to be in a phase of severe crisis. He stated that about 21,000 trucks of aid have been collected, water and health services have been expanded, tens of thousands of children have been vaccinated, and more than six hundred thousand people have been provided shelter. 

Fletcher said this is not enough and thanked Gaza for the temporary humanitarian solution and the resilience of the Palestinians. Mentioning that this is an unstable situation, he emphasized that about one thousand Palestinians have been killed after the ceasefire, being deprived of basic needs such as security, shelter, water, healthcare, and education.

Fletcher presented three main demands to the Security Council: the safety of civilians and humanitarian workers, ensuring safe, sustainable, and unimpeded access for aid, and providing adequate funding.