Describing it as "the most dangerous place on earth right now." Speaking to correspondents via video link on Thursday, the senior OCHA official underscored the grim reality facing over two million people trapped in Gaza, where basic necessities like food, shelter, and safety have become scarce.“Dying hungry and in pain” is an increasingly likely outcome for children, mothers, aid workers, and teachers alike, he said.“We're there to support [the people] who for more than 14 months have struggled to stay alive,” Mr. Petropoulos explained. “But we're not allowed to do our jobs,” he emphasised.Humanitarian operations under siegeOCHA has been striving to deliver food, healthcare, and safe drinking water to Gaza’s besieged population, but fuel shortages and blocked access routes have exacerbated the crisis.Moreover, these efforts have been opposed by what Mr. Petropoulos referred to as “blanket prohibitions” from Israeli authorities.“When we raise these things with Israeli authorities, they reject virtually every single practical solution that we table,” Mr. Petropoulos said, adding that “the aid system has been weaponised.”He further revealed that aid delivery often becomes a race against time, with insufficient supplies to meet the growing needs of the population.“As an aid worker in Gaza, you're forced to make horrible decisions,” he described. “Should I let people die of starvation or of the cold? Do we bring in more food to ease hunger or more plastic sheets for some shelter from the rain at night?”, he illustrated.North Gaza: Mass displacement and destructionNorth Gaza, under near-total siege for 75 days, has become a site of intensified military operations.Mr. Petropoulos described chilling reports of mass casualties, the destruction of entire communities, and forced displacements under bombardment.“The Israeli corridor bisecting the strip, has been fortified to such a degree that it's not really a corridor anymore,” he said, noting that 150 requests for humanitarian access have been denied since October.Even when supplies manage to reach shelters or hospitals, they are often destroyed in subsequent attacks.A call on Member StatesMr. Petropoulos called on Member States to uphold their obligations under international humanitarian law and to ensure the protection of civilians.He emphasised the need for a ceasefire and immediate, complete humanitarian access.“We need to get to people wherever they are,” he said. “We need to prove the impact of this response based on how people are doing and not the numbers of trucks,” he added.The UN has consistently warned of the escalating humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza, with UN Secretary-General António Guterres urging all parties to respect the principles of international humanitarian law and facilitate aid delivery to those in need.As the crisis intensifies, the UN’s humanitarian system in Gaza faces its greatest test yet, operating “hand to mouth” with little reserves left. 

Khaled Khiari, Assistant Secretary-General in the UN Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs (DPPA), presented the latest quarterly report on the implementation of Council resolution 2334 (2016).It calls for Israel to immediately and completely cease all settlement activities in the OPT, including East Jerusalem, and for immediate steps to prevent all acts of violence against civilians.Ongoing hostilities in GazaMr. Khiari said that hostilities and violence have continued throughout the OPT since the report’s submission.Among the incidents was the reported killing of at least 69 Palestinians from 14 to 15 December in four Israeli airstrikes on schools in Gaza sheltering displaced persons.  This includes 20 people killed at a school run by UN Palestine refugee agency UNRWA in Al-Mawasi, Khan Younis.More than 250 Palestinians have been killed in such strikes over the past week, according to the Gaza Ministry of Health. The authorities said that the death toll from the war has surpassed 45,000, while Israeli sources report that over 1,700 Israelis and foreign nationals have been killed.West Bank unrestMeanwhile, an Israeli boy was killed in a shooting attack in the occupied West Bank on 12 December.  Israeli forces reportedly killed a Palestinian man in an exchange of fire in a refugee camp that same day.“Serious clashes have also taken place between Palestinian armed groups in the occupied West Bank and Palestinian security forces since the written report, particularly in Jenin camp following a Palestinian arrest operation and the seizure of Palestinian Authority vehicles by militants,” he said.He added that over several days, Palestinian security forces have killed an unarmed 19-year-old and detained numerous Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad militants, while the clashes have caused significant damage to the camp.Hamas attacks condemnedMr. Khiari highlighted some of the observations in the report.He again strongly condemned the horrific 7 October 2023 attacks by Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups on Israel and the continued holding of more than 100 hostages in Gaza. Nothing can justify these acts of terror, he said, reiterating that all remaining hostages must be released immediately and unconditionally, while a ceasefire in Gaza is long overdue.Devastation, death and humanitarian restrictionsHe also drew attention to the widespread devastation and deprivation resulting from Israel’s military operations in the north, and condemned its use of explosive weapons with wide area affects in densely populated areas across the Gaza Strip, which has caused massive casualties and damage, including to UN premises.He mourned the UN personnel killed in Gaza and strongly condemned the killing of health workers, humanitarians and journalists, as well as the looting of aid in the context of a breakdown of law and order. He further noted that continued restrictions imposed by Israel, looting and overall insecurity mean that aid entering Gaza is insufficient to meet the overwhelming needs.Against settlement expansion"I remain deeply alarmed by the relentless Israeli settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, that is fueling tensions, impeding access by Palestinians to their land and threatening the viability of a future independent, democratic, contiguous and sovereign Palestinian State," he said.He expressed deep concern that Israel has continued to systematically promote policies that have strengthened involvement of civilian officials in control over the occupied West Bank, which includes transferring of some security functions.  Some Israeli Government officials also have called for annexing areas of the territory.In this regard, he noted the recent findings by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in its Advisory Opinion on 19 July, which declared that Israel’s continued presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory is unlawful and must end as rapidly as possible.Support Palestinian governmentMr. Khiari said it is vital that the international community provide immediate support to the Palestinian Government so that it can address fiscal challenges, strengthen governance capacity, and prepare to reassume responsibilities in Gaza.“We must establish political and security frameworks that can address the humanitarian catastrophe, start early recovery, rebuild Gaza, and lay the groundwork for a political process to end the occupation and establish a viable two-State solution as soon as possible,” he said.He stressed that these frameworks must facilitate a legitimate Palestinian Government that can re-unify Gaza and the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem - politically, economically and administratively, while also reversing the steadily deteriorating dynamics throughout the OPT.“Any attempt to establish settlements in Gaza must be firmly rejected. There must be no attempt to reduce or annex the territory of Gaza in whole or in part,” he said.Lay the foundationAmid the conflict in Gaza and tensions in the West Bank, the UN continues to call for a two-State solution between Palestinians and Israelis.“The devastation and misery of the past year have reinforced once again a simple truth: Palestinians and Israelis can no longer wait to establish a viable political horizon,” he said.“Now is the time to lay the foundations for a better future for Palestinians, Israelis and the broader region,”.Mr. Khiari upheld the UN’s commitment to support Palestinians and Israelis in ending the occupation and resolving the conflict in line with international law, relevant UN resolutions and bilateral agreements in pursuit of achieving the two-State solution. 

As humanitarians condemned new deadly airstrikes across the war-torn Strip, including on a UN school-turned-shelter.Images taken at the school in Khan Younis showed the apparent impact point of one shell in a concrete upper floor where people had been living at the time of the attack late Sunday night.According to the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, 13 people died and 48 were injured during the strike. There was no warning, said the victims.“It's been another very deadly night here in the Gaza Strip, we are waking up every single day to a new horror,” UNRWA Senior Emergency Officer, Louise Wateridge, told UN News.“I have been to Nasser Hospital this morning. One of the children I spoke to her name was Mona, 17 years old; she has very severe injuries to her leg - she had very severe shrapnel wounds - and she was in the hospital with her sister…their mother was crushed to death under the rubble.”Another victim, two-year old Julia, suffered severe head trauma and lost her sight in one eye; her five-year-old brother also had a serious head injury.Originally from Gaza City, the youngsters and their family “have been forcibly displaced seven or eight times,” Ms. Wateridge said. “They ended up in the [UNRWA] school, and they've been there for the last seven months, and now this – it just feels very hopeless.”Youngsters’ tollThe development followed an update from the head of the UN Children’s Fund, UNICEF, that more than 14,500 youngsters have been reportedly killed in Gaza. Many thousands more are believed buried under the rubble.Meanwhile, famine “continues to loom in the north” and humanitarian access remains “severely restricted”, said UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell, in a post on social media.“Virtually all 1.1 million children in Gaza are in urgent need of protection and mental health support,” she added, amid media reports that Israeli military activity in the last 24 hours has left at least 69 Palestinians dead, from Beit Lahia in the north to Rafah in the south.Food aid blockedEchoing those concerns, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) warned that Gazans were now desperately worried about not getting enough to eat. In the absence of a ceasefire, “we need to find a way of getting all the food that we have outside Gaza in”, said WFP's Head of Emergency Communications, Jonathan Dumont.“The devastation is absolutely staggering,” he continued, in an online message from Gaza.“There’s no electricity or running water or sewage (treatment). Almost everyone has lost their home. A lot of people are living in tents. We have hot meals, distributions…People come and they get really desperate. You can see it in their faces and you can see it in their eyes. To prevent famine we need to find a way to get a consistent flow of food in.”

"This misery must end. It is time for peace. It is time to give people hope. Enough of this atrocity," said Muhannad Hadi, the United Nations Humanitarian Coordinator in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, following a two-day visit to Gaza. During his visit, Hadi toured several areas, hospitals, and shelters, "I have seen people in shelters who are lacking the basic services and lacking food".Speaking to UN News in Gaza, the UN official noted: "Those who do not die from bullets or from the bombs. They may die from the lack of proper health care or the lack of food or safe drinking water."Hadi observed the dire state of healthcare in Gaza, which has been severely impacted by the ongoing conflict for over a year. During a visit to a medical point in Nuseirat camp, he found that the mobile clinic was merely a tent. One healthcare worker he met described the situation for maternity care: "Imagine a woman giving birth in a tent. The only hospital in the area providing maternity services in a building is Nasser Hospital."At Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, southern Gaza, Hadi spoke with staff, patients, and individuals recovering from injuries, including children. Hospital officials explained that Nasser Hospital has become the substitute for Al-Shifa Hospital in northern Gaza, which was previously the backbone of Gaza's healthcare system. Worsening ConditionsFollowing his visit to Nasser Hospital, Hadi described the deteriorating situation: "The health sector in Gaza is collapsing. I have seen mothers sitting next to their children wondering if they can ever provide them with the medicines that they need, with the medical care that they need. As a humanitarian worker and a father, witnessing these children suffer due to a lack of medicines and medical attention is deeply painful."Despite the despair, Hadi praised the commitment of healthcare workers: "I have not seen such dedication anywhere in my professional life. They are doing their utmost with the few resources they have." He added: "I saw patients in immense pain, suffering from a lack of necessary medicines. This must end. People here feel like they are waiting for death."During his hospital visit, Hadi also witnessed the structural damage to hospital buildings. In the dialysis unit, he met patients who traveled long distances for their sessions, braving the challenges of ongoing conflict, restricted mobility, and destroyed roads.Severe Shortages of Basic SuppliesThe Humanitarian Coordinator's two-day visit to Gaza focused on the healthcare sector. On the second day, he visited Al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir Al-Balah, central Gaza. Speaking to journalists, he highlighted that the hospital's capacity was 199 beds, but it now accommodates 550 patients."The situation is catastrophic overall. The healthcare sector is struggling like every other sector in Gaza," Hadi said. "I listened to people's tragic stories. I saw children with amputated limbs and severe human suffering."He pointed to a lack of the most basic supplies in hospitals, including bed linens, medical staff uniforms, and sterilization equipment. Meeting with Youth"Children will need extensive psychological support to rebuild their lives," said a young Palestinian woman Hadi met at OCHA’s Gaza office on the second day of his visit. The young woman, who studied fine arts, shared how her social media pages now depict the daily suffering of Gaza's children instead of art and exhibitions.A high school senior described how his life has been "put on hold" since the outbreak of the war. He noted that around 100,000 high school students are unable to continue their studies or plan for the future. "My classmates who moved to Egypt have graduated and moved on with their lives, while I am still stuck in the same grade," he said.