Situation in Gaza drastically deteriorates amid Israeli siege: UNICEF

ISTANBUL

The United Nations children’s agency UNICEF said Sunday that the situation in the Gaza Strip has drastically worsened due to Israel’s crippling siege on the Palestinian enclave.

"The situation in Gaza has drastically deteriorated over the last two months due to the imposed siege and the prevention of humanitarian aid," UNICEF said in a statement on X.

It said Gaza’s children continue to endure relentless Israeli airstrikes and are being deprived of essential goods, services, and life-saving care.

The organization called for the immediate resumption of a ceasefire and the urgent entry of humanitarian aid into the besieged enclave.

Since March 2, Israel has kept Gaza crossings closed to food, medical, and humanitarian aid, deepening an already severe humanitarian crisis in the enclave, according to government, human rights, and international reports.

Earlier this month, Israel’s Security Cabinet approved an aid delivery plan for the Palestinians in war-torn Gaza through private US security contractors based on handing over aid boxes to individuals.

The Israeli plan, however, has been rejected by the UN and dozens of international aid groups, saying it runs against humanitarian principles, is logistically unworkable, and could put Palestinian civilians and staffers in harm’s way.

The Palestinian resistance group Hamas also decried the Israeli plan as "political blackmail" and "a violation of international law."

Nearly 2.4 million people in Gaza live completely dependent on humanitarian aid, according to World Bank data.

The Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said on Sunday that Tel Aviv is coordinating with a US firm to distribute humanitarian aid in Gaza, suggesting that the aid distribution may start on May 24.

The Israeli army has continued its brutal offensive on the Gaza Strip since Oct. 7, 2023, killing more than 53,300 Palestinians, most of them women and children.

Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.