NEW YORK, June 19, 2026 (WAFA) – Tom Fletcher, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, warned the UN Security Council that the humanitarian situation in Gaza continues to deteriorate despite the ceasefire agreement, stressing the urgent need for increased humanitarian funding and unrestricted aid access.
Speaking during a United Nations Security Council meeting on the humanitarian situation in Gaza, held yesterday evening at the request of the ten non-permanent member states, the UN official referred to Security Council Resolution 2803, which the Council adopted seven months ago on the ceasefire and the plan proposed by US President Donald Trump.
He said the share of households reporting going to bed hungry dropped from 92 per cent to 36 per cent. “Gaza is no longer currently classified as being in famine, IPC Phase 5, though remains in severe crisis, IPC Phase 4.”
He said, “Today, Palestinians in Gaza remain deprived of the basics that you would all demand for your own families: safety, shelter, clean water, healthcare, education.”
“Despite reduced active fighting, civilians continue to be killed and maimed in daily airstrikes, shelling and gunfire,” said Fletcher.
He continued, “Since the ceasefire, nearly 1,000 Palestinians have been killed according to the Ministry of Health, including, our colleagues at UNICEF report, more than 250 children.”
“This is what happens when children are described as collateral damage and potential terrorists, rather than humans and potential neighbours,” he added.
He said, “For humanitarians, I’m afraid that Gaza remains the most dangerous place on earth to deliver aid. Almost 600 aid workers killed there in nearly three years – over half of over 1,000 humanitarians killed globally.”
He added, “Too many Palestinians are being squeezed into an ever-shrinking strip of land. Their lives are shaped by the indignity of constantly shifting yellow and orange lines that define where they can seek refuge.”
He stressed that 70 per cent of the population needs proper shelter. “Essential services are on the brink.”
“WHO reports that no hospital is fully operational. UNICEF warns that, for 1.1 million children, water remains a daily uncertainty.”
He said, “Sanitation conditions continue to deteriorate. Doctors report a stark increase in rat-bite cases.”
The UN official added, “Shortages of generators, engine oil, spare parts are forcing reliance on expensive alternatives, such as prolonged water trucking and complex medical evacuations.”
“Consider what each of these challenges represents for the existence of a mother in Gaza. So it is not enough to silence the weapons – we must restore dignity,” he said.
T.R.
