Gaza situation ‘beyond catastrophic’
Dominic Allen, the head of the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) covering Gaza, said he was "terrified" of what could happen if the Israeli offensive goes on any longer.
He told AFP the situation was "beyond catastrophic" with gaunt and starving people spending their days searching for food, and medicine running desperately low.
The British-born official, who spent a week in the besieged Palestinian territory last month, said even when aid got through the border, there were still major problems getting it to those who need it most, particularly women and girls.
"What I saw across the Gaza Strip is beyond catastrophic. I have been to Gaza many times before this war, and what I saw (this time) was truly heartbreaking. Gaza is dust," Allen said.
People are on the verge of famine right now in Gaza. This is caused by a huge backlog in supplies and assistance.
"Everybody we drove by and many we spoke to were gaunt, starving, hungry and looking frail. Everybody was looking for food. We're really worried about pregnant women and breastfeeding women."
Doctors and midwives at the Al-Sahaba Maternity Hospital (the only one functioning in the north) said women are giving birth to smaller babies caused by malnutrition, dehydration and fear.
"They're telling us anecdotally that they are seeing no normal-sized babies being delivered in Gaza, an increase in the number of stillborns and neo-natal deaths as well," Allen said.
"Delivery rooms are overwhelmed. A midwife described women giving birth on the floor because they were at maximum capacity. They're having to use thread for umbilical ties."
The British-born official also said UNFPA has had a number of suppliers denied entry into Gaza at checkpoints and screenings. Access to the north is very challenging... many UN missions to the north have been denied over past months.
"People are on the verge of famine right now in Gaza. This is caused by a huge backlog in supplies and assistance," he said.
About delivering medicines to the Gaza Strip, Allen said: "We brought what they needed the most, the anaesthetics, the oxytocin (and other items that need to be kept cold) and put them in the back of our armoured vehicle and deliver them by hand to the hospital."
"They're asking for fuel. Their hospitals are running on fumes. One said if a patient needs surgery, they have to take a canister of gasoline or diesel (with them) to run the generator in the operating theatre. They lack some of the most basic items to help support and give safe birth care for mothers and babies."
Asked about Israel's planned offensive on Rafah, Allen said: "Every person I spoke to in Rafah is so fearful about what will come next for a potential ground incursion in Rafah (in the south).
The unprecedented Israeli campaign has killed at least 32,916 people, mostly women and children, according to the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza yesterday.
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