Gaza’s population is being “starved and denied the very basics,” while the region stands at a dangerous crossroads, the UN’s Middle East peace envoy warned the Security Council Wednesday, urging immediate action to halt the violence, restore aid and advance a two-State solution before time runs out.Sigrid Kaag, interim UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, said that the man-made crisis unfolding in Gaza has plunged civilians into “an abyss.”“Since the collapse of the ceasefire in March, civilians have constantly come under fire, confined to ever-shrinking spaces, and deprived of lifesaving relief,” she said.“Israel must halt its devastating strikes on civilian life and infrastructure.”Risk of famineWith families cut off from aid for weeks on end, and only a fraction of the needed relief now entering the enclave, starvation looms.“The entire population of Gaza is facing the risk of famine,” Ms. Kaag warned, adding that the limited aid permitted into the enclave is “comparable to a lifeboat after the ship has sunk.”"Ms. Kaag emphasized that humanitarian aid must not depend on political negotiations, noting that the UN aid operation is prepared to deliver assistance immediately, in accordance with international law.“Aid cannot be negotiable,” she said.Full aid access imperativeMs. Kaag called on Israel to halt its devastating strikes and allow full access for humanitarian aid and commercial goods.At the same time, she stressed that Israel has the right to live in peace and security.“This was undeniably shaken by the horrific terror attacks and taking of hostages on 7 October by Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups,” she said, reiterating the call on Hamas and other armed groups to stop rocket attacks against Israel and release all hostages unconditionally.Two-State solutionMs. Kaag emphasised that durable security “cannot be achieved solely through force”, it must be built on mutual recognition, justice, and rights for all.“A better path exists that resolves this conflict, de-escalates regional tensions and achieves a shared vision for peace,” she said.The upcoming high-level international conference in June, co-chaired by France and Saudi Arabia, presents a critical opportunity to relaunch a path toward ending the occupation and realising the two-State solution based on international law, UN resolutions and previous agreements.“It must not be another rhetorical exercise,” she said.“We need to pivot ourselves from declarations to decisions. We need to implement rather than adopt new texts.”‘See you in heaven’In her briefing, Ms. Kaag described the deep despair of civilians in Gaza, where families now bid farewell not with a “goodbye, see you tomorrow”, but with the words “see you in heaven.”“Death is their companion. It’s not life, it’s not hope,” she continued, stressing that Gazans deserve more than survival – they deserve a future.Urging bold political action, she called for adherence to international law, and support for a reformed Palestinian Government that can govern both Gaza and the West Bank.“Statehood is a right, not a reward,” Ms. Kaag said.“Let us not be remembered as the generation that let the two-State solution disappear. Let us be the generation that chose courage over caution, justice over inertia and peace over politics. Let us be part of a generation that can make this happen.”Operating without anaesthesia: Volunteer surgeonFollowing Ms. Kaag's remarks, an American surgeon who volunteered in Gaza twice since 7 October 2023 told Council ambassadors that he had to work in hospitals without critical medical supplies, electricity or anaesthesia.“The children died, not because their injuries were insurmountable, but because we lacked blood, antibiotics, and the most basic supplies readily available in any major hospital in the world,” Feroze Sidhwa said.“During the five weeks I spent in Gaza, I didn't see or treat a single combatant. My patients were six-year-old children with shrapnel in their hearts and bullets in their brains, pregnant women with shattered pelvises and foetuses split in two in the womb,” he added., filtered_html

The UN already has a proven system to deliver assistance to people in Gaza and will not take part in any plan that does not uphold universally established humanitarian principles, a spokesperson for aid coordination office OCHA affirmed. “There's been so much time wasted talking about the various proposals and the various plans. In the meantime, people are dying and are left without aid,” Olga Cherevko said in an exclusive interview with UN News.This week, UN agencies were able to bring limited amounts of food, flour and other items into Gaza after Israel lifted a nearly three-month aid blockade. Ms. Cherevko said humanitarians were told this was a temporary measure until aid distribution is implemented through the so-called Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, an initiative backed by Israel and the United States.  The plan sees aid dispersed from four points south of the Netzarim Corridor, which is under Israeli military control, and involves the use of private US contractors. She discussed this development, the positive impact of the trickle of aid allowed into Gaza, and the need to scale up efforts.“There is a sense that some people feel like this is the end and that there is no turning back – and that they are just waiting to die,” she said.This interview has been edited for length and clarityOlga Cherevko: We've been speaking about this and other proposals and plans. Our concerns are that any distribution of aid, any system that exists, needs to be in line with globally established humanitarian principles. And if it isn’t, it’s not something that we can be involved in.We have concerns about the scalability of this proposed plan, and about various other parts of it. The biggest issue is that we have a plan, and we have a system that we are using as we speak, and the system has been tried over various crises across the world. It has been proven to work, it has mechanisms to mitigate theft, to mitigate diversion and it ensures that it reaches people wherever they are. So, there’s been so much time wasted talking about the various proposals and the various plans. In the meantime, people are dying and are left without aid. UN News: The UN definitely will not be taking part in this plan, but did you receive any indications that you will be able to proceed with the work that you’ve been doing over the past couple of days?Olga Cherevko: For the time being it’s unclear because obviously the resumption of limited volumes of aid entering that the Israeli authorities have approved as of a few days ago, we were obviously assured that we would be using our mechanisms - so the ones that were using now, the ones that are already in place. We were informed that this would be an interim measure until this Foundation starts working.  At this point, we really don’t have more details and again, it will have to be seen on the ground how things will develop.UN News: Were any trucks allowed in today and was more aid distributed? Olga Cherevko: There have been batches of trucks coming in since this decision to allow them was approved. We have already been able to get some of the aid to the people in need, including getting flour to bakeries, and a number of bakeries have resumed their operations and fired up their ovens. We also had some partners who picked up the bread for direct distribution. A field hospital also received a batch of medical supplies. These are obviously very positive steps and positive developments in the right direction, but the volume of this aid is literally a drop in the ocean compared to the extent of needs on the ground. UN News: We heard that most, if not all, of the supplies that were allowed in yesterday were nutritional and food aid.  Is this a new development that some medical supplies were allowed in today? How many people can be served with these food items and medical supplies?Olga Cherevko: The medical supplies were always part of the agreement to be included. But again, this is something that in itself is limiting because at the moment what is being allowed is things like nutrition, flour, some medicines and a few other things. It has to be a full range of things for us to be able to really deliver assistance at scale.In terms of how many people it will serve, you can compare the kind of volumes that we were having during the ceasefire to what we have now and you will see that it's woefully insufficient. But we have enough food alone to feed people for several months waiting at the crossings.UN News: The World Food Programme (WFP) said 15 of its trucks were looted. Can you tell us what’s being done to prevent looting?Olga Cherevko: Regarding looting and break-ins or whatever to try to divert or take aid - if you look at the numbers of these kinds of incidents before the ceasefire and during the ceasefire you will see a huge change.  There were barely any such incidents during the weeks of the ceasefire when we were able to bring in these large volumes (of aid). When the ceasefire broke down and the crossings were closed for the entry of any cargo, and we got to the point where we were really in a desperate situation and we were running low on everything, that is when they started again. UN News: Let’s go back to the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. As the four distribution points are going to be south of the Netzarim Corridor – reportedly one in Middle Gaza and the others in the south – are you already starting to see movements towards those areas? What are your concerns about displacement?Olga Cherevko: Our concerns about displacement are what they have always been. Obviously, we would never support any sort of forced displacement, or any type of ethnic cleansing, or anything that would forcibly drive people from the areas where they are.Before the ceasefire, more than 90 per cent of people were forcibly displaced across Gaza and they were being squeezed into an increasingly smaller piece of land. When the ceasefire happened a lot of them went back. They tried to restart their lives and they kind of had a bit of time to process what’s been happening. When the ceasefire broke down again on 18 March, we saw another 610,000 people displaced again.  These types of displacement are getting more and more dangerous and desperate because people are coming with nothing. People are fleeing with just the shirt on their back.We're now hearing and seeing people sleeping in the streets because there’s nowhere for them to go. As we've said time and time again, there is no safe place in Gaza, and this has been proven time and time again. UN News: You’ve been back and forth to Gaza for quite some time now, and you've seen the suffering first-hand. Can you give our audience an idea of what it means in real-life terms when aid is prevented from reaching those in need?Olga Cherevko:  Something that has always stuck me about the Palestinians in Gaza is their resilience and their strength, and the spirit that they have kept throughout these months of war. I knew Gaza well before because I used to work there for several years starting from 2014, and knowing how people have endured so much suffering and despite that they find the strength to go, they find the strength to smile at you and to offer you tea or anything that they might still have. Now when I speak to people, the thing that is most devastating is that there is a sense that some people feel like this is the end and that there is no turning back and that they are just waiting to die.Before this limited aid was allowed to enter, the remaining operating community kitchens would have hundreds of people huddled around them waiting for hours with empty pots.  Many were told to turn back because there's no food for them. People were telling me that they weren't eating for several days at a time. I saw children that are being malnourished, and suffering from malnutrition. These kinds of things are very preventable, and preventable deaths are happening all around us because of this intentional crisis imposed on Gaza by closing the crossings. And that is the most frustrating thing for me - knowing that we can quickly address these issues if only we were given the opportunity – because we have everything waiting outside of Gaza to come in. , filtered_html

“Today will be crucial. Truckloads of lifesaving aid finally on move again,” said top UN aid relief coordinator Tom Fletcher.Hours earlier and in a major development, 198 trucks entered Gaza via the Kerem Shalom crossing in the south of the enclave, carrying nutrition supplies, medicines and wheat flour.Announcing the news online, Mr. Fletcher reported that humanitarian organizations then retrieved “about 90 truckloads of goods” in a night-time operation to prepare them for distribution.But significant challenges remain “in loading and dispatching goods” Mr. Fletcher continued, citing security and looting concerns, “delays in coordination approvals and inappropriate routes being provided by Israeli forces that are not viable for the movement of cargo”.Until earlier this week, no commercial or humanitarian supplies had been allowed into Gaza since 2 March, deepening an already catastrophic hunger crisis and sparking widespread condemnation from the international community.According to the UN World Health Organization (WHO) at least 57 children have reportedly died from the effects of malnutrition, according to the local health authorities. The number is likely an underestimate and is expected to increase if the aid blockade continues.  In their latest report, respected and UN-partnered food insecurity experts warned that nearly 71 000 children under the age of five are expected to be acutely malnourished over the next 11 months unless Gazans can access sufficient food and healthcare support.Working through the nightVideo footage published online Thursday by the UN World Food Programme (WFP) showed aid crews hurrying to offload sacks of flour from trucks at a floodlit warehouse.Elsewhere in the storage hangar, other images showed large quantities of dough being made in an industrial mixer.“Our teams are working non-stop to get bakeries running again,” the agency said, referring to the 25 facilities it had to close on 31 March when wheat flour and fuel ran out. “But it's nowhere near enough to support everyone in need. We need more trucks, more food, in now,” the UN agency warned.After 19 months of constant Israeli bombardment which continues today, one in five Gazans faces starvation, food insecurity experts have warned.And reiterating the urgent need for more lifesaving supplies to enter the shattered enclave, the UN aid coordination office, OCHA, stressed that much more aid will be needed to avert a humanitarian catastrophe.No fuel allowed inNo hygiene products or fuel have been allowed into the enclave by the Israeli authorities, the UN agency noted.“The UN and its partners have been engaging with the Israeli authorities to identify the best possible route from Kerem Shalom onward into Gaza to ensure the flow of aid is not disrupted or suspended,” OCHA explained in its latest update. “Partners are in touch with community leaders in Gaza to mitigate the risk of looting and ensure that the supplies entering Gaza reach the people who rely on them.”Meanwhile, Gazans continue to contend with daily bombardment and shelling across the Strip, with dozens reported killed on Tuesday.A day later, OCHA noted that the health authorities on an urgent request for blood donors to treat the sick and injured.“Amid the hostilities, large numbers of people continue to be displaced – once again fleeing for their lives amid intense bombing of their communities and with no safe place to seek shelter or supplies,” the UN agency said.It reported that a full 80 per cent of Gaza is either subject to displacement orders or located in Israeli-militarized zones which require aid teams to coordinate their movements with the Israeli authorities.“Partners report that over the past few days, almost half of people newly displaced have fled with none of their belongings,” OCHA said. “The ongoing displacement of Gaza’s population is putting immense pressure on humanitarian teams, especially when there is no food or other basic supplies to offer.” , filtered_html

Media reports said soldiers fired warning shots near the diplomats, who were on an official visit to view humanitarian conditions around the camp where a major Israeli military operation has been ongoing since January. The mission was hosted by the Palestinian Authority and approved by Israel, however it strayed from the approved route, media reports said, citing a statement by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). Diplomats from more than 20 countries were in the group, along with staff from the UN agency that assists Palestine refugees, UNRWA.  No injuries were reported.Diplomats must be respectedUN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric was asked about the incident during his regular media briefing from New York.  He said Secretary-General António Guterres was alarmed by reports that “the IDF fired what they called warning shots” at diplomatic and UN personnel.“It is clear that diplomats who are doing their work should never be shot at, attacked in any way, shape or form, and their safety, their inviolability, must be respected at all times,” he said.“Any use of force against them is unacceptable, and we urge the Israeli authorities to conduct a thorough investigation, to share those findings with us, and to take any measures that would prevent any other such incident to take place.”‘Lax use of excessive force’UNRWA Director of Affairs in the West Bank, Roland Friedrich, spoke out against the Israeli military’s actions.“This incident is a stark reminder of the lax use of excessive force routinely deployed by Israeli Security Forces in the West Bank, often with lethal consequences,” he said in a tweet.He noted that “while the West Bank is not a war zone,” 137 Palestinians have been killed there since January in occupation-related violence.“The IDF has said they are investigating the incident. However, claims such as ‘mistakenly identifying [the delegation] as a threat’ and firing ‘warning shots’ do not fully capture the severity of today's events,” he said.“This raises serious concerns over the way rules of engagement are applied to unarmed civilians,” he added.Meanwhile, several countries have voiced their condemnation. Germany’s foreign ministry issued a statement calling for Israel to investigate the matter.“The Federal Foreign Office strongly condemns this unprovoked fire. We can count ourselves lucky that nothing more serious occurred,” it said.Jenin camp situationThe UN continues to highlight the situation at the Jenin camp and elsewhere in the West Bank.  Mr. Friedrich said access to the camp “has been near-impossible” since Israel launched Operation ‘Iron Wall’ on 21 January. All residents have been forcibly displaced and UNRWA services there have been fully suspended. He called for safe humanitarian access to the camp to be restored, while those displaced must be allowed to return immediately.  , filtered_html