News Agency
\nJabalia
\nPalestinians in Gaza are enduring \u201cwhat may be the cruellest phase of this cruel conflict,\u201d says the United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, warning that Israel\u2019s escalating military campaign and prolonged blockade have pushed the population to the brink of famine.
\n\u201cFor nearly 80 days, Israel blocked the entry of life-saving international aid,\u201d Guterres said in a statement on Friday, condemning the scale of human suffering. \u201cThe entire population of Gaza is facing the risk of famine.\u201d
\nAlthough Israel has allowed only several hundred trucks to cross into Gaza this week following a partial easing of its 11-week siege, Guterres described the flow of supplies as woefully insufficient.
\n\u201cAll the aid authorised until now amounts to a teaspoon of aid when a flood of assistance is required,\u201d he said.
\nThe UN chief said the Israeli campaign has intensified with \u201catrocious levels of death and destruction,\u201d while access for humanitarian groups remains dangerous and erratic. \u201cEighty percent of Gaza has been either declared an Israeli militarised zone or is under evacuation orders,\u201d he noted.
\n\u201cWithout rapid, reliable, safe and sustained aid access, more people will die \u2013 and the long-term consequences on the entire population will be profound,\u201d Guterres told reporters in New York.
\nIn Gaza, Palestinians are struggling on a daily basis to \u201cfind food and drinking water, and still queueing for hours in front of whatever is left of the operational local community kitchens that are providing only a tiny amount of food for a hungry population,\u201d said Al Jazeera\u2019s Hani Mahmoud, reporting from Gaza City.
\n\u201cThe amount of food or the aid that has been allowed for the past two days, is not enough or sufficient, and does not address the deepening humanitarian crisis caused by months of Israeli devastation and bombardment across the strip,\u201d he said.
\nMeanwhile, Israeli attacks have killed at least 76 Palestinians across Gaza since Friday. At least 53,822 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks since October 7, 2023 and more than 122,382 others wounded \u2013 most of them women and children.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
News Agency Jabalia Palestinians in Gaza are enduring \u201cwhat may be the cruellest phase of this cruel conflict,\u201d says the United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, warning that Israel\u2019s escalating military campaign and prolonged blockade have pushed the population to the brink of famine. \u201cFor nearly 80 days, Israel blocked the entry of life-saving international aid,\u201d […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":448937,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-480665","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n