UN Says Situation in Gaza is 'Beyond Catastrophic'

U.N. Secretary-General spokesperson Farhan Haq told reporters Wednesday that the situation in Gaza is "beyond catastrophic."

Transcript

00:00Turning to the Gaza Strip, our colleagues at the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs

00:04tell us that more people are being killed and injured either along convoy routes or where

00:08they're staying. The situation is beyond catastrophic. Hospitals are overstretched.

00:14Patients are lying on the floor or in the streets, suffering as beds, medical supplies,

00:18and equipment are severely lacking. Yesterday, emergency medical teams were denied entry into

00:23Gaza. The World Health Organization tells us that more than 100 health professionals,

00:27including surgeons and other specialized medical staff, have been barred from entry since March

00:32this year. Yesterday, you heard that Israeli authorities allowed the entry of a limited

00:36number of trucks carrying commercial goods. While we are still following up to obtain more

00:40clarity on this, initial reports from our partners on the ground indicate that the items included

00:45rice, sugar, and vegetable oil. Sugar remains one of the most expensive items on the market.

00:50A two-ounce bag costs some $170. Eggs, poultry, and meat have disappeared from the market.

00:57People rely on pulses and bread to survive when and if available, which is far from being

01:02enough for the most vulnerable people. The worsening market situation underscores the urgent need for

01:08the entry of humanitarian aid and commercial goods at scale and consistently. Starvation continues to

01:15happen, and today the Ministry of Health reported five new malnutrition-related deaths in the past 24

01:21hours, bringing the total to about almost 200 deaths, half of whom are children. The limited

01:27availability of fuel continues to affect life-saving operations. In the past two days, the UN collected

01:33some 300,000 liters from the Kerem Shalom crossing. This is far less than what is needed to sustain

01:39operations. For example, our partners working in health warn today that the lives of more than 100

01:45premature babies are in imminent danger due to the lack of fuel. Benzene has reached very low levels,

01:52with hardly any entering Gaza during the past 10 days. Today, the Israeli military renewed two

01:57displacement orders spanning some 1.5 square miles across five neighborhoods in Gaza and Khan Yunus

02:03governorates. Shelter materials have not been allowed to enter Gaza since 2 March. The few shelter materials

02:09that are available on the local market are extremely expensive and limited in quantity, putting them out of

02:14place to reach for most families.