LONDON

An official of the Norwegian Refugee Council has described the worsening situation and suffering in the Gaza Strip following his visit to the besieged enclave this week.

“What I have witnessed in Gaza this week is a civilian population engulfed by destruction, desperation and despair. Famine is a growing threat here, as millions of trapped people face a nightmare of violence and starvation," Jan Egeland, secretary general of the humanitarian organization, said in a statement on Thursday.

“The children of Gaza are visibly malnourished, reduced to searching the streets for food and assistance. It is unimaginable that an entire population is left to starve while vast amounts of supplies sit waiting just a few miles away across the border."

Israel has pounded the Gaza Strip since the Oct. 7 Hamas cross-border incursion, which Tel Aviv says killed nearly 1,200 people and took around 240 people as hostages.

More than 30,000 Palestinians have since been killed and over 70,000 others injured amid mass destruction and shortages of necessities.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, which in an interim January ruling ordered Tel Aviv to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.

Egeland said on his way to Gaza he passed hundreds of trucks which are all unable to reach those in dire need.

"Only by ensuring that the Rafah and Kerem Shalom crossings, as well as the northern Karni and Erez crossings are used at full capacity will civilians have a chance of receiving sufficient life-saving aid," he stressed.

“We must be clear: civilians in Gaza are falling sick from hunger and thirst because of Israel’s entry restrictions. Life-saving supplies are being intentionally blocked, and women and children are paying the price."

He said Israel is duty-bound to ensure the provision of food and supplies for Gaza's population, but it has failed to provide or facilitate the delivery of means essential for their survival.

About Israel's plan to launch a ground offensive in the city of Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, the official said it "will lead to mass casualties."

“I am shaken to my core by seeing and hearing of the suffering across Gaza. The civilian population is deeply traumatized as they tell me of multiple displacements and now living on top of each other in an overcrowded Rafah, all the way to the south of Gaza. They are living in constant fear amid the looming threat of an Israeli ground operation. They find themselves at their last refuge in Gaza, with diminishing options for safety," he said. "I have never in all my years as a humanitarian worker seen such an intense bombardment over so many days with such a trapped population without any escape."

He said it is essential that Hamas immediately releases all hostages, and that Israel lifts the siege on Gaza.

“Those states supporting the parties to the conflict must understand the consequences for civilians in Gaza. They must insist on a ceasefire and full humanitarian access and aid supplies. The human suffering in Gaza is already beyond belief, and this war on civilians must end immediately," the secretary general said.