UN Appeals and Palestinian Cries for Help: Gaza Turning into a “Mass Grave”
International and Palestinian warnings of an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe in the Gaza Strip are escalating amid continued Israeli attacks and a tightening blockade. International organizations have described the situation as “hell” and a “mass grave” for civilians and humanitarian workers alike.
The United Nations has warned that Gaza’s residents are enduring the “worst period” since the beginning of the war, with the Strip turning into a “living hell” due to severe shortages of food, medicine, and fuel. Ajith Sunghay, Head of the UN Human Rights Office in the Palestinian territories, stated that the suspension of aid since March has worsened the suffering of more than 2.4 million Palestinians.
Meanwhile, World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned that attacks on hospitals threaten to bring health services to a halt. They rely on power generators that are now facing imminent shutdown due to the lack of fuel. He called for the immediate protection of health facilities and an end to the blockade.
Doctors Without Borders (Médecins Sans Frontières) has warned of Gaza turning into a “mass grave” due to deliberate attacks on workers in the medical and humanitarian fields. The organization described the situation as “ethnic cleansing targeting all aspects of life.” It added that the total blockade on Gaza has depleted stocks of food, fuel, and medicine, warning that fuel shortages across the Strip would inevitably bring medical services to a standstill, as hospitals depend entirely on generators.
The organization urged the Israeli authorities to immediately lift the inhumane and deadly blockade on Gaza, emphasizing the urgent need to protect Palestinian civilians and ensure the safety of medical and humanitarian workers.
In previous statements, Doctors Without Borders described the catastrophic situation in Gaza as one in which “the stench of death is everywhere,” asserting that Israeli military doctrine is based on a principle of blind, indiscriminate retaliation. The organization again reiterated that what is unfolding is “ethnic cleansing aimed at erasing life in Gaza.”
The Government Media Office in Gaza sounded the alarm, confirming that the Strip has entered a phase of “total humanitarian collapse,” with famine spreading among civilians, particularly among over one million children suffering from severe malnutrition. The office reported that the Zionist forces have destroyed 37 aid distribution centers and 28 soup kitchens as part of a “systematic starvation policy.” The UN agency UNRWA has also warned of the collapse of the health system due to medicine shortages and the complete depletion of fuel.
The Media Office warned that the humanitarian situation in Gaza has entered a stage of complete collapse, caused by the siege and systematic starvation imposed by the Zionist forces on civilians for over six months. It emphasized that humanitarian aid has been entirely blocked from entering the Strip for over a month and a half, deliberately and continuously.
In its statement on Wednesday, the Media Office said, “Gaza is now facing a real humanitarian disaster and a clear famine threatening the lives of civilians, especially over 1,100,000 children suffering from acute malnutrition amid the absence of food, a severe shortage of water, and the near-total collapse of the healthcare system. People are being deprived of even the most basic necessities of life.”
The statement added, “Long queues in front of the few remaining food distribution points have become a daily tragic scene in all governorates of the Strip, as the enemy has targeted more than 37 aid centers and 28 soup kitchens, bombing them and putting them out of service as part of a deliberate plan to impose starvation as a weapon of war against civilians.”
It stressed that the situation in Gaza is not a temporary crisis but an organized starvation crime that amounts to a war crime, committed by the occupying forces with international complicity and silence—particularly from countries providing political and military cover for the occupation’s genocide, currently affecting over 2.4 million Palestinians in Gaza.
On the humanitarian aid front, the Media Office reported that the Zionist authorities continue to prevent the entry of any relief trucks or fuel into Gaza, despite thousands of trucks loaded with aid being stacked at the crossings for weeks without being allowed to reach those in need.
It noted that the severe blockade spares no aspect of daily life and strikes at the very foundations of survival, exacerbating the already massive humanitarian catastrophe for over 2.4 million people in the Strip and threatening unprecedented, total collapse.
The statement revealed that vital services and humanitarian facilities are on the verge of total breakdown. Hospitals are operating with extremely limited capacities, without medicine or fuel, and all hospitals could be forced to shut down within the next two weeks due to the lack of fuel.
It continued: “Bakeries have stopped working due to the lack of flour and fuel, and water stations have ceased pumping because of fuel shortages and deliberate power cuts, especially to desalination plants.”
The Media Office warned of the imminent risk of mass deaths at any moment due to hunger, lack of healthcare, and the spread of disease.
Hospitals are facing systematic destruction. The Al-Awda Health Association reported that 60% of hospitals and 95% of primary care centers have been destroyed, resulting in the disappearance of essential services such as cancer and pediatric care. Director of the association, Raafat Al-Majdalawi, warned that the fuel shortage would bring all hospitals to a standstill within, at most, two weeks.
In a press statement on Wednesday, the association called for the deployment of equipped field hospitals to assist patients and the wounded, and urged pressure to allow the entry of all necessary medical supplies to restart and rehabilitate the healthcare system.
The association also called for the immediate opening of the crossings and the urgent entry of humanitarian and medical aid, along with the provision of protection for civilians and the release of detained doctors.
On Sunday, Raafat Al-Majdalawi confirmed in a press statement that all hospitals in Gaza had been directly or indirectly targeted by the Zionist occupation forces. He stated that the Zionist entity is systematically destroying hospitals and primary care centers to deepen the humanitarian crisis in the Strip.
As thousands of aid trucks remain stuck at border crossings and warnings of “mass deaths” due to hunger and disease grow louder, international and Palestinian appeals continue to pour in, demanding an end to the genocide, the opening of the crossings, and the protection of civilians. These calls, however, remain loud but unheard in the eyes of what is referred to as the “international community.”