During his second visit to the Gaza Strip since October 7, James Elder, spokesman for the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), said that the war in Gaza “shattered humanity’s records in its darkest chapters,” and stressed the urgent need for humanity to write a different chapter.
This is what he told reporters in Geneva, speaking from Gaza via video technology amid the sounds of bombing, which prompted him to stop speaking several times for a few moments. He added that since his last visit to the Strip about 3 months ago, “every horrific statistic facing children, families, and civilians has increased dramatically.”
Elder said that the city of Rafah is “completely unrecognizable” while people live in miserable conditions and sleep in crowded streets. He said that there is one toilet for approximately 850 people, and multiply this number by four when it comes to showering, as there is one bathroom for every 3,600 people.
“This is a shocking disregard for the most basic human needs and, of course, human dignity,” he said.
Mass destruction
The neighboring city of Khan Yunis is no better, according to a UNICEF spokesman who said the city “barely no longer exists.”
He added: “In the twenty years I spent at the United Nations, I have never witnessed such devastation. Chaos and devastation, rubble and rubble, in every direction, everywhere I look, on every street. Total devastation.”
Mr. Elder warned of the consequences of any large-scale military attack on Rafah, saying: “Rafah is a city of children. There are 600,000 girls and boys here.” He stated that the correct description for any large-scale operation in the city is an “assault,” recalling that it is home to some of the last remaining hospitals, shelters and water networks in Gaza.
Empty stomachs in the north
A UNICEF spokesman said that yesterday he was able to visit Jabalia in the north, where he saw desperate people pointing with their hands to their mouths asking for food. He said that relief efforts are being hampered, adding that there is a crossing point just ten minutes away from these people that could change this humanitarian crisis within days, but it remains closed. He said the impending famine in Gaza is entirely predictable, preventable, man-made and reversible “if the right decisions are made.”
He added: “Let’s be clear. Life-saving aid is being obstructed, lives are being lost, and dignity is being taken away.”
Mr. Edler said that hope and despair (which are opposites) are very evident in Gaza. He added: “The unspeakable is frequently said in Gaza, from teenage girls who say they hope they would be killed so their nightmare would end, to a child being told that he is the last member of his family alive. This horror is no longer unique to Gaza. In the midst of all this, he continues “So many brave, generous and tireless Palestinians, supporting each other with everything they had.”
Complete siege
The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) had warned of an imminent famine in Gaza “any time between now and May” in the northern Strip, following the latest Integrated Food Security Phase Classification report.
The report’s data indicates that “the entire population” of Gaza – some 2.3 million people – suffer from high levels of “acute food insecurity.” Among them, more than 1.1 million people suffer from “catastrophic hunger,” known as IPC Phase 5.
Speaking from Cairo to the press conference of UN agencies in Geneva, Abdel-Hakim Al-Waer, Assistant Director-General of FAO and Regional Representative for the Near East and North Africa, confirmed that the northern Gaza Strip “remains completely besieged and inaccessible.”
In response to journalists’ questions about comments by Israeli politicians that refute the idea of famine in Gaza, Mr. Al-Waer insisted, “Certainly, we have enough evidence that shows the continued spread of extreme hunger, acute and severe food insecurity, and shortages of basic food supplies and water,” stressing that… Those who claim otherwise must provide evidence.
Al-Waer said: “There are cases of death as a result of hunger, and these are the early indicators of famine. I hope that we will not wait for the full declaration of famine because the situation as it is now calls for action, which is long overdue.”
