The UN agency assisting Palestine refugees (UNRWA) has issued a grave warning about the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza. According to a recent post on X, UNRWA is striving to provide healthcare amid severe challenges posed by overcrowded shelters, inadequate sanitation, and forced displacement, all of which are heightening health risks for the population.
Compounding these issues, the UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has reported that safe water is unaffordable for many Gaza residents, forcing them to resort to burning trash for cooking. The situation is critical as humanitarian operations in the enclave are nearing collapse.
The UN World Food Programme (WFP) has also sounded the alarm, stating in a bulletin that without a significant influx of food and humanitarian supplies, Gaza will face escalating desperation and hunger. The limited functionality of southern border crossings has drastically reduced the flow of fuel and aid into Gaza, resulting in almost no food distributions except for limited stocks provided to community kitchens for hot meals. The WFP noted that all bakeries in Rafah have shut down, although UNRWA continues to support a few bakeries in other parts of Gaza.
In a related development, Alice Jill Edwards, UN Special Rapporteur on torture, has called on the Israeli government to investigate multiple allegations of torture and degrading treatment of detained Palestinians since October 7, 2023. Edwards emphasized that detainees must be treated humanely and afforded all protections under international human rights and humanitarian law. Reports indicate that prisoners have been subjected to beatings, prolonged blindfolding and handcuffing, sleep deprivation, and threats of violence. There are also accounts of prisoners being humiliated and exposed to degrading treatment, including being photographed in compromising positions.
Edwards expressed deep concern over these emerging patterns of violations, warning that the lack of accountability and transparency is fostering an environment conducive to further abuses. Since the attacks by Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups on Israeli communities on October 7, 2023, followed by the Israeli military offensive in Gaza, thousands of Palestinians from Gaza and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, have been detained, among them children.
The international community continues to monitor the situation closely, with numerous calls for immediate humanitarian aid and an end to human rights violations in the region.
