New York, Sept 26 (V7N) – As Israeli military operations intensify in Gaza City, the United Nations has warned of worsening humanitarian conditions across the war-torn enclave. UN aid teams reported Thursday that displaced and starving families in southern Gaza are now forced to sleep on rubble-strewn ground, in makeshift tents, or overcrowded shelters, while food shortages deepen.
 
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said intensified strikes in Gaza City have targeted tents, residential buildings, and critical infrastructure, causing heavy civilian casualties. Several health facilities and community kitchens in northern Gaza have been forced to shut down this month as military operations escalate.
 
UN aid chief Tom Fletcher issued a stark warning about the catastrophic toll on children, describing them as being “killed while sleeping, playing, queuing for food and water, and seeking medical care.” He condemned their suffering, citing cases of starvation, amputations without anesthetics, and children scavenging through rubble for food. Fletcher called for the immediate implementation of International Court of Justice (ICJ) measures requiring Israel to facilitate urgent humanitarian aid, while also acknowledging Israeli victims of the Hamas-led 7 October 2023 attacks.
 
Key UN updates highlight the severity of the crisis:
– On 19 September, two children, aged four and five, were killed in Al Mawasi, Khan Younis, when their tent was struck.
– Bread prices have skyrocketed, with a two-kilogram bundle costing over $9, compared with 30 cents earlier this year at UN-supported bakeries.
– Of 94 coordinated aid missions between 17 and 23 September, only 35 were approved by Israeli authorities. No aid has entered northern Gaza since the Zikim crossing closed on 12 September.
– Community kitchens in Gaza City have reduced food distribution by about 50,000 daily meals, leaving thousands without sustenance.
– Families in southern Gaza are crammed into overcrowded schools, tents along beaches, or sleeping in the open, while basic services have collapsed.
 
The UN human rights office confirmed that between 19 and 20 September, at least 51 Palestinians were killed in 18 separate attacks on residential buildings in Gaza City, nearly all of them civilians. Ongoing ground operations, bombardments, and new evacuation orders have triggered fresh waves of displacement.
 
The humanitarian lifeline from Jordan through the Allenby Bridge crossing also remains blocked after a Jordanian truck driver killed two Israeli soldiers earlier this month, further reducing aid deliveries.
 
Gaza’s health ministry reported that in the week ending 24 September, 357 Palestinians were killed and 1,463 wounded. Since the start of the conflict on 7 October 2023, over 65,400 Palestinians have been killed and more than 167,000 injured.
 
OCHA added that 2,531 people have died and more than 18,500 have been injured while trying to access aid since May 2025. In addition, 440 malnutrition-related deaths, including 147 children, have been documented since October 2023.
 
UN officials stressed that without immediate humanitarian access, the situation in Gaza risks spiraling further into what they describe as one of the worst humanitarian catastrophes in modern history.
 
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