NEW YORK, Wednesday, November 1, 2023 (WAFA) - Scores of civilians have been killed in Gaza following recent attacks on the Jabalia refugee camp. This is just the latest atrocity to befall the people of Gaza where the fighting has entered an even more terrifying phase, with increasingly dreadful humanitarian consequences, said Martin Griffiths, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, following his two-day visit to Israel and the occupied Palestinian Territory.

"In Gaza, women, children and men are being starved, traumatized and bombed to death. They have lost all faith in humanity and all hope of a future. Their despair is palpable," he said. 

"In the West Bank, the death toll is rising. Violence and the closure of checkpoints mean that people cannot access food, jobs, health care and other essential services," he added.

“Meanwhile, the world seems unable, or unwilling, to act. This cannot go on,” said Griffiths.

“We need to be able to provide the essentials for survival – particularly water, food, medicine and fuel – safely, immediately and at scale. The more than 200 trucks which have crossed into Gaza so far following painstaking negotiations offer some relief but are nowhere near enough.” 

He stressed the need for the warring parties to agree to pauses in the fighting. "This is the only viable option to get relief items into Gaza right now. Repeated humanitarian pauses would allow us to provide more aid to those in need across Gaza, thus alleviating people’s suffering and reducing the risk of civil disorder. Such pauses would also allow the sick and wounded to seek medical care," he said.

"We need those with influence to use that influence to ensure respect for the rules of war, de-escalate the conflict, and avoid a spillover," he added.

“Failure to act now will have consequences far beyond the region because this is a global crisis,” the UN relief chief concluded.

T.R.