NEW YORK — United Nations humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths said Friday that three months into Israel’s war in the Gaza Strip, the territory has become uninhabitable and aid workers are left with the “impossible mission” of supporting more than 2 million people.
“This war should never have started. But it’s long past time for it to end,” Griffiths said in a statement on the conflict’s three-month mark.
“We continue to demand an immediate end to the war, not just for the people of Gaza and its threatened neighbors, but for the generations to come who will never forget these 90 days of hell and of assaults on the most basic precepts of humanity.”
The war, sparked by Hamas’ October 7 terror attack inside Israel that killed about 1,200 people and saw some 240 others taken hostage, has led to a dire humanitarian situation in Gaza, where the Hamas-run Health Ministry says more than 22,000 Palestinians have been killed and nearly 60,000 injured. Hamas is a U.S.-designated terror organization. The U.N. says 1.9 million others have been displaced.
“It is time for the parties to meet all their obligations under international law, including to protect civilians and meet their essential needs, and to release all hostages immediately,” Griffiths said.
He said humanitarians are working in challenging and dangerous conditions.
“The humanitarian community has been left with the impossible mission of supporting more than 2 million people, even as its own staff are being killed and displaced, as communication blackouts continue, as roads are damaged and convoys are shot at, and as commercial supplies vital to survival are almost non-existent.”
At least 142 staff members from the U.N. agency that assists Palestinians, UNRWA, have died in the conflict, many with their family members.
Children caught in ‘nightmare’
The U.N. children’s agency, UNICEF, said Friday that the intensifying conflict, malnutrition, and the spread of diseases threatens more than 1.1 million children in Gaza.
“Children in Gaza are caught in a nightmare that worsens with every passing day,” Catherine Russell, UNICEF’s executive director, said in a statement.
She underscored that children and families continue to be killed and injured, and their lives are increasingly at risk from preventable diseases and lack of food and water.
“All children and civilians must be protected from violence and have access to basic services and supplies,” she said.