GAZA STRIP, October 5, 2025 (WAFA) – Sarah Avrillaud, head of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) sub-delegation in the Gaza Strip, said that for two years, the civilian population has endured death, forced displacement, and the denial of dignity on a devastating level.

“We have seen humanity hollowed out in Gaza,” she said.

In a statement, Avrillaud added: “Thousands of Palestinians have been separated from their families, and many remain missing. The toll of the past two years is visible on the exhausted faces of people trying to make it hour by hour.”

“Remaining essential services cannot adequately meet the needs of civilians. Many people do not have regular or safe access to water, hygiene facilities, or medical services. The toll two years of struggling to survive has taken on people is beyond words.”

The statement continued: “I have met terrified mothers who do not know how to feed their children or to keep them safe. I’ve seen patients struggling to recover when they cannot rest because of constant displacement. I have watched entire families emerging from dust-covered, destroyed buildings, shocked but alive.”

Avrillaud emphasized that “the International Committee of the Red Cross continues to respond wherever possible, alongside partners like the Palestine Red Crescent Society, but as the situation deteriorates, challenges only increase. Humanitarian organizations alone cannot meet the ever-increasing needs of civilians.”

She further stressed the urgent need for a ceasefire and called for the rapid and unimpeded entry and passage of humanitarian assistance across the Gaza Strip.

“All feasible precautions must be taken to spare the civilian population, who have already endured far too much in the last two years,” she said, adding, “Lives can be saved, but civilians can’t afford to wait. They need political action now.”

T.R.