ISTANBUL

The UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) reported on Saturday that hundreds of thousands of people in the Gaza Strip are deprived of life necessities like adequate shelter, food, medicine and clean water. 

“Hundreds of thousands of people in #Gaza are deprived of adequate shelter, food, medicine & clean water,” said the agency on X.

It further noted that the number of crossings into the enclave “remains far too limited.”

“The ability to dispose of garbage & treat sewage is severely restricted. Trash continues piling up,” said UNRWA.

Later, in a separate statement, UN aid worker Louise Wateridge explained that people in Gaza “need everything,” adding: “These are very desperate times. [...] The only answer to that is to provide more aid.”

Flouting a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire, Israel has faced international condemnation amid its continued brutal offensive on Gaza since an Oct. 7, 2023 attack by Hamas.

More than 37,800 Palestinians have since been killed in Gaza, most of them women and children, and more than 86,800 others injured, according to local health authorities.

Over eight months into the Israeli war, vast tracts of Gaza lie in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water, and medicine.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, whose latest ruling ordered Tel Aviv to immediately halt its operation in Rafah, where over a million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war before it was invaded on May 6.​​​​​​​