LONDON
\nIsrael\u2019s military operation in Gaza is no longer a war against militants but has become a \u201cdestruction of a civilization,\u201d a top aid official said, warning that time is running out to prevent a \u201cbiblical famine\u201d in the besieged enclave.
\nIn an interview with CNN on Tuesday, Jan Egeland, secretary general of the Norwegian Refugee Council, said Israel\u2019s continued bombardment and restrictions on aid access have left Gaza\u2019s civilian population, particularly women and children, to suffer the consequences of a conflict they had no part in.
\n\u201cWhat I see is that, as a military conflict, it was all over a long time ago,\u201d Egeland told anchor Bianna Golodryga. \u201cThis is not targeted anti-terrorist warfare, it\u2019s the destruction of a civilization now.\u201d
\nThe veteran humanitarian said there are no justifications for the war on Gaza, which has killed more than 60,000 people and pushed the enclave\u2019s population of 2.2 million to the brink of famine.
\n\u201cHamas has a million sins on their conscience \u2026 but those dying (and) bleeding have nothing to do with Hamas. These are women and children. They had nothing to do with Oct. 7,\u201d he said, calling for an immediate ceasefire and an urgent and large-scale opening of Gaza\u2019s border crossings to allow full access for aid groups.
\nEgeland\u2019s remarks come amid growing international pressure on Israel to ease restrictions and allow humanitarian aid into Gaza, as malnutrition-related deaths continue to rise. During a Saudi-French conference on Tuesday, UN experts confirmed that large areas of the enclave are now experiencing full-scale famine.
\nIsrael has responded with efforts to increase aid deliveries including a temporary pause in military operations, partial openings of humanitarian corridors, and aid airdrops.
\nEgeland, however, said such efforts are not enough \u201cto avert a biblical famine on our watch,\u201d criticizing the air drops and temporary corridors for offering little relief to a starving population.
\nWhile he welcomed the shifting stances of US President Donald Trump, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, and other Western leaders who finally recognized the widespread starvation gripping the Palestinian territory, Egeland emphasized that the solution to avert the crisis ultimately rests with them.
\n\u201cIt is Israel and the Western powers that provide the arms to all of this that have to change this. They have the fingerprint all over this catastrophe really. We can change it. It\u2019s still possible.\u201d
\nDespite the mounting death toll and near-total collapse of humanitarian infrastructure, Egeland said the international community still has a chance to avert the worst \u2014 but only if it acts immediately and decisively.
\n\u201cIt has to be a massive ramp up. And time is running out,\u201d he warned.
\nOn Monday, in a meeting with Starmer, Trump acknowledged that there is \u201creal starvation\u201d in Gaza. The British prime minister announced the following day that the UK will recognize a Palestinian state in September unless Israel takes significant steps to end the \u201cappalling situation\u201d in Gaza and meets other conditions.
\nEgeland said Western leaders were finally acknowledging warnings that aid agencies had been raising for months.
\n\u201cThese capitals have known so, because we told them for many months, I\u2019m glad it\u2019s \u2014 there is a wakeup call now. It is very late,\u201d he said.
\nAddressing the humanitarian catastrophe, the NRC chief noted the collapse of the food and health sectors, saying that people were dying from preventable disease and lack of water and sanitation.
\nHe said his NGO has been finding it impossible to provide the basic services of water, sanitation and shelter due to the total depletion of fuel and continued restrictions.
\nThe organization, he noted, is \u201cstill denied access for our water and sanitation hygiene items, our food and our tents.\u201d
\nThe aid chief paid tribute to the resilience of his Palestinian colleagues in Gaza, describing them as \u201creal heroes\u201d who have endured repeated displacement, hunger, and profound personal loss while continuing their humanitarian work.
\n\u201cIf there is anyone I would give the Nobel Peace Prize to, I would give it to my colleagues on the ground, Palestinian, in Gaza, the single mothers who are also aid workers.
\n\u201cBut they\u2019re really broken now, after all of these months of starvation, all of these months of having their homes destroyed.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
LONDON Israel\u2019s military operation in Gaza is no longer a war against militants but has become a \u201cdestruction of a civilization,\u201d a top aid official said, warning that time is running out to prevent a \u201cbiblical famine\u201d in the besieged enclave. In an interview with CNN on Tuesday, Jan Egeland, secretary general of the Norwegian […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":493849,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-493831","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n