Griffiths: People in Gaza Strip have nowhere safe to go and they are experiencing real horror

The United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Martin Griffiths said with the resumption of the Israeli airstrikes, the people in Gaza have nowhere safe to go and very little to survive on.

“While the past week offered us a glimpse of what can happen when the guns fall silent, the situation in Khan Younis today is a shocking reminder of what happens when they don’t, he said, as cited by WAFA News Agency.

“Over the past seven days, hostages were released, families were reunited and more patients received some medical care,” he said in a statement.

“The volume of aid into and across Gaza increased. And while it barely scratched the surface of what people need, it still allowed aid agencies to provide some basic supplies, reach areas which have been cut off for weeks, and offer some respite to deeply traumatized families,” he added.

“Today, in a matter of hours, scores were reportedly killed and injured. Families were told to evacuate, again. Hopes were dashed,” said the UN official.

“Almost two months into the fighting, the children, women and men of Gaza are all terrified. They have nowhere safe to go and very little to survive on. They live surrounded by disease, destruction and death. This is unacceptable. We need to maintain – and build on – the progress in aid delivery. We need civilians and the life-sustaining infrastructure they rely on to be protected,” he said, calling for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire and an end to the fighting.

For his part, Director General of the World Health Organization Tedros Ghebreyesus called for immediately resuming and increasing the delivery of humanitarian assistance to Gaza.

He reiterated that civilians in Gaza Strip need protection, food, shelter, water, medicine and other basic needs.

Hamda Mustafa