A woman sits with her children in an ambulance after being evacuated with other Palestinians from the Gaza Strip at the Rafah border crossing in northeastern Egypt on December 30, 2023, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the militant group Hamas. - AFP
ISTANBUL (Bernama-Anadolu): The United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees reiterated on Saturday that Gaza is grappling with catastrophic hunger and nearly half of the population is at a risk of famine, reported Anadolu Agency.
"People are hungry and just desperate for food,” Thomas White, the director of UNRWA affairs in Gaza, said on X, adding: "40 per cent of the population at risk of famine.”
"More regular supplies needed. We require safe and sustainable humanitarian access everywhere, including to the North of Gaza,” he added.
Israel has continued relentless attacks on the Gaza Strip since Oct 7, killing more than 21,000 Palestinians and injuring many more, according to local health authorities.
The Israeli onslaught has left Gaza in ruins, with 60 per cent of the enclave's infrastructure damaged or destroyed, and nearly 2 million residents displaced amid acute shortages of food, clean water and medicine.
The head of UNRWA, Phillipe Lazzrini, said meaningful, unhindered, and unconditional humanitarian assistance, as well as commercial flow, can still reverse and prevent the looming famine. - Bernama-Anadolu
