The situation in the northern Gaza Strip is “apocalyptic” as Israel pursues a military offensive against Hamas militants in the area, top United Nations officials have warned.
“The entire Palestinian population in north Gaza is at imminent risk of dying from disease, famine and violence,” they said in a statement on Friday signed by the heads of UN agencies, including the UN children’s agency Unicef and the World Food Programme, and other aid groups.
Israel began a wide military push in northern Gaza last month. The United States has said it was watching to ensure that its ally’s actions on the ground show it does not have a “policy of starvation” in the north.
But on Friday, the UN officials said humanitarian efforts could not keep up with the scale of the needs in northern Gaza, due to constraints on access for aid workers.