A senior United Nations official has warned that if Israel pushes ahead with its planned assault on Gaza City, hopes for ending the war will disappear.
Israel has described the evacuation of Gaza’s most densely populated city as “inevitable,” heightening global concern for hundreds of thousands of civilians trapped there, with famine already documented and threatening to worsen after nearly two years of conflict.
Sam Rose, acting director of Gaza operations for the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), told The Associated Press that many residents of Gaza City are unable to flee. “Some are too old, too young, too sick or incapacitated,” he said, noting that Israeli tanks and armored units have surrounded the city.
“You’ve got a population living in abject fear, cruelty and humiliation, with no control whatsoever over their daily lives,” Rose said. “Just think about what that means for parents, for children who’ve grown up knowing nothing but this.”
Instead of a military assault, Rose urged that all efforts should go into delivering services and assistance to keep people alive. He recalled that before the war — which erupted after Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023 attack on southern Israel — UNRWA was providing food daily to 1.2 million people.
He noted that about 6,000 trucks carrying food, medicine, fuel and water have been stuck for months outside Gaza due to Israeli restrictions. “That’s enough food to feed everyone, enough soap to give everyone, enough nappies, diapers,” he said.
European Union humanitarian commissioner Hadja Lahbib also condemned the planned offensive, describing “mountains” of aid piled up at Gaza’s borders. She said the EU’s agreement with Israel to boost relief deliveries has failed, and pleaded: “Let us save lives.”
Israel’s government, which shut down all aid deliveries for two and a half months earlier this year, insists it has allowed sufficient supplies to enter during the war. But the U.N. says the amount remains far below the pre-war average of around 600 trucks a day.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected famine warnings, calling the declaration by international food security experts “an outright lie.”
Earlier this month, the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification reported that nearly half a million people — about one-fourth of Gaza’s population — are facing catastrophic hunger, with many at risk of death from malnutrition-related causes.