The head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) said its employees, as well as doctors and aid workers, are fainting on duty due to hunger and fatigue, Reuters reported.
UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini said in a statement released by his spokesman during a press conference in Geneva:
"Caregivers, including UNRWA colleagues in Gaza, are in need of care themselves now - doctors, nurses, journalists, humanitarian workers - among them UNRWA staff are starving. Many are fainting from hunger and exhaustion while on duty," he said, describing the situation in Gaza as "hell on earth", indicating that nowhere, no one is safe!
UNRWA estimates that 1,000 starving people have reportedly been killed while seeking food aid since late May. After talks to extend a six-week ceasefire failed, Israel imposed a total blockade on Gaza on March 2, preventing any aid from entering the territory to provide much-needed relief.
In a post on X on Monday, UNRWA said shortages in the Palestinian territory had caused food prices to increase 40-fold, while aid stockpiled outside Gaza could feed “the entire population for more than three months.”
The World Health Organization (WHO) said the Israeli military attacked its staff housing and main warehouse in Deir al-Balah on Monday, compromising its operations in Gaza. The WHO said the staff housing was hit three times, with airstrikes causing fire and extensive damage, endangering the lives of staff and their families, including children.
On Monday (July 21), for the first time, Israeli tanks entered the southern and eastern neighborhoods of Deir al-Balah – an area where, according to Israeli sources, hostages may be held. Tank shelling hit homes and mosques, killing at least three Palestinians and wounding several others, local medics said.
The WHO said: “The Israeli army entered its premises, forcing women and children to evacuate on foot towards al-Mawasi, amidst the fighting. The male staff and their families were handcuffed, stripped naked, interrogated on the spot and searched at gunpoint.”
According to a post on X, two WHO staff members and two of their family members were arrested. Three of them were later released, while one staff member remains in custody. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus called for the “immediate release of the staff in custody and the protection of all those providing their assistance.”
Elsewhere, Israeli tank shelling killed at least 12 Palestinians and wounded dozens more in a tent camp west of Gaza City in the northern territory, local health authorities said on July 22.
Doctors said tanks positioned north of the "Shati" camp fired two shells at tents sheltering displaced families, killing at least 12 people.
The Israeli military has not yet commented on the incident.
The situation in Gaza is simply too dire, and the Palestinians are on the verge of starvation, while a deep humanitarian crisis has been reported dozens of times. Despite numerous warnings from EU countries, and often from the US, President Benjamin Netanyahu has ignored calls for a ceasefire and a halt to the genocide, continuing to commit numerous humanitarian crimes in Gaza.
