UN says Israel's operations in Gaza City will fuel mass suffering for Palestinians

The United Nations is warning that Israel’s order for Palestinians to leave Gaza City will fuel mass suffering and is insisting that civilians must be protected and their needs must be met whether they flee or stay.

U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters Wednesday that this warning from the U.N. humanitarian office means that all parties involved in the conflict in Gaza must respect international humanitarian law at all times. Protection of civilians and the infrastructure for their survival are key requirements of the law.

“The level of fighting and destruction that we are seeing in recent days, as the cease-fire talks are ongoing, is truly shocking,” Dujarric said.

He said Muhannad Hadi, the U.N. humanitarian coordinator for the Palestinian territories, briefed Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Wednesday about his visit into the Gaza Strip a day earlier and the dire situation there.

“He saw firsthand the consequences of the breakdown in public order and safety as he entered and exited Gaza through the Kerem Shalom crossing,” Dujarric said.

“He saw groups of men with sticks waiting for trucks to leave the Kerem Shalom crossing into Gaza,” the U.N. spokesman said. “All the trucks that he passed were badly damaged, with broken windshields, mirrors and hoods.”

Hadi also saw bags of fortified flour from the U.N. World Food Program and the U.N. agency helping Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, scattered on the side of the road coming out of the crossing, Dujarric said.

In Khan Younis, Hadi reported that the southern city “has largely been reduced to sand and rubble,” the spokesman said. “Every building that he saw had been damaged in some way, shape or form.”

Hadi also met with women’s groups at a U.N. guesthouse who told him about harrowing conditions at sites for displaced Palestinians, he said.

“Many women have cut off their hair due to lice and difficulties in accessing the necessary hygiene products such as shampoo, and because of the lack of privacy at sites for displaced people,” Dujarric said.

He said “others voiced despair over their inability to provide for their families, in particular for relatives living with disabilities and those who are sick and cannot get treatment,” and for having to send their children to bed without eating and drinking.

“One woman said that living with many different families in the same room meant that she wasn’t removing her hijab for days and that she couldn’t brush her hair or change clothes without being watched,” Dujarric said. “Others told him that overcrowding, despair and the breakdown in public order and safety is leading to an increase in sexual and gender-based violence.”