UN Condemns Deadly Israeli Offensive in Gaza City

A boy walks through Netzarim in the Gaza Strip.

The United Nations has condemned the deadly Israeli military offensive in Gaza City over the past weekend, Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said on Monday.

“The situation is having an appalling impact on civilians enduring suffering and starvation,” he told journalists in New York.

“The United Nations condemns the deadly escalation of the Israeli military offensive across Gaza City, with scores of people reportedly killed or injured. We reiterate our call for the protection of civilians and humanitarian personnel and full respect for international law,” he added.

UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestine refugees, reported on X that 10 of its buildings in Gaza City were hit in the past four days, including seven schools and two clinics being used as shelters.

Almost 70,000 displaced people have moved south in the past few days, while UN partners reported 150,000 movements from north to south this past month. One-third of malnutrition treatment facilities in Gaza City have shut down due to forced displacement orders. The Ministry of Health reported 425 deaths from malnutrition and starvation, about a third of them children.

UN partners have managed to distribute 40,000 additional meals each day. As of Saturday, 558,000 daily meals were prepared and distributed by 20 UN partners to 116 kitchens.

“Health services remain heavily constrained as clinics have suspended operations due to insecurity and displacement orders,” Dujarric warned, noting that in Deir Al-Balah only a few ambulances are operational to serve thousands in need.

Additionally, 77 per cent of Gaza’s road networks have been damaged. According to OCHA, humanitarian aid continues to face obstruction. On Sunday, only four of 17 UN-coordinated missions with Israeli authorities were facilitated; seven were denied, four impeded in the field, and two cancelled.

Three humanitarian missions succeeded, including the collection of fuel and food from the Kerem Shalom/Karem Abu Salem crossing.

“Our humanitarian colleagues continue to call for unimpeded access,” Dujarric stressed. “Aid should flow at scale through multiple crossings into and within Gaza, including the north.”