UN relief chief: Gaza ‘apocalyptic’; almost impossible to deliver aid amid Israeli siege

The United Nations has raised the alarm about the “apocalyptic” situation in the Gaza Strip as a result of the Israeli regime’s 14-month genocide and tightened siege in the Palestinian territory.

“Gaza is apocalyptic right now,” UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Tom Fletcher, said on Tuesday, stressing that the besieged territory is an almost "impossible place" to deliver humanitarian aid.

“We are getting only a tiny fraction through of what is needed. We’re facing the specter of starvation again. Disease is rampant. Our trucks are getting looted… But we will keep trying against the odds,” he told CNN.

Citing the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric also said during a news conference that Israel continues to reject efforts to deliver aid to the northern Gaza Strip.

"UN-led aid missions to the North Gaza governorate continue to be overwhelmingly denied, especially those seeking to reach the besieged areas in Beit Lahiya, Beit Hanoun and parts of Jabalya," Dujarric said.

"OCHA reports that today, three humanitarian missions planning to bring food and water to parts of besieged North Gaza were once again denied by Israeli authorities," he said, adding, "The UN attempted to reach these besieged areas 40 times, of which 38 attempts were denied and two were impeded" since the start of December.

Emphasizing the need to protect civilians in the northern Gaza Strip, Dujarric called on Israel to meet the "essential needs" of civilians.

"This means facilitating the work of the UN and humanitarian partners who have been trying to deliver food, water, health and other critical assistance -- only to have their missions denied or impeded," he added.

UK-based IHRC urges boycott of 2025 Holocaust commemorations over Gaza genocide exclusion

The Islamic Human Rights Commission has called for the boycott of the 2025 Holocaust Memorial Day commemorations over exclusion of the ongoing Gaza genocide.

Israel launched a genocidal war on Gaza on October 7, 2023 after the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas waged the surprise Operation Al-Aqsa Flood against the occupying entity in response to the Israeli regime's decades-long campaign of bloodletting and devastation against Palestinians.

The regime’s bloody onslaught on Gaza has so far killed at least 45,059 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and injured more than 107,041 others. Thousands more are also missing and presumed dead under rubble.

Last month, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and his former minister of military affairs Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel is also facing a genocide case at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) for its atrocities in Gaza.

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