The United Nations (U.N.) issued a stark warning on Thursday, describing the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip as “beyond catastrophic.”
U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric reported that more than 1 million people in southern and central Gaza went without food rations through humanitarian aid in August.
“Despite the challenges we face, the U.N. and other humanitarian organizations continue to do everything possible to provide life-saving aid to Palestinians,” he said.
Between Aug. 19 and the end of the month, 450,000 cooked meals prepared in 130 kitchens were provided daily to families across the Strip.
“It bears repeating that the humanitarian situation in Gaza remains beyond catastrophic, and we still do not have all the conditions necessary to support people at the scale that they actually need,” Dujarric said.
Multiple evacuation orders issued by Israeli security forces had forced 70 kitchens to suspend service or relocate.
For the second consecutive month, there will be insufficient supplies to meet the need, meaning families in central and southern Gaza will receive only one food parcel.
Dujarric added that 11 months into the war, international media are still banned from entering Gaza to report on the humanitarian impact.
In the West Bank, Israeli forces continued to “utilize lethal war-like tactics,” Dujarric said, referring to reports from the U.N. emergency aid organization OCHA.
“Medical facilities have been virtually besieged for over a week now, with heavy restrictions imposed on the movement of ambulances and medical staff,” he said.
“OCHA also warns that this is deepening people’s humanitarian needs as well as insecurity and raises concerns over excessive use of force.”
Israel has been blockading and bombarding large parts of the Gaza Strip in a war launched after the Palestinian group Hamas launched an incursion on southern Israel on Oct. 7 last year that killed more than 1,200 people.
According to the Hamas-controlled health authority in Gaza, Israel’s carnage has resulted in more than 40,000 deaths in the Palestinian territory since the start of the latest conflict.
