Gaza is a 'killing field',
says UN chief, as agencies urge world to act on Israel's blockade
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A woman wearing a head covering cooks on a makeshift stove in a tent in Gaza City,Image source,Getty Images,Image caption, Israel has blocked all goods from entering Gaza for more than a month
The UN's secretary-general says "aid has dried up [and] the floodgates of horror have re-opened" in the Gaza Strip, where Israel has blocked the entry of all goods and resumed the war against Hamas.
"Gaza is a killing field, and civilians are in an endless death loop," António Guterres said on Tuesday.
His comments come after the heads of six UN agencies appealed to world leaders to act urgently to ensure food and supplies reached Palestinians there.
Israel's foreign ministry insisted there was enough food in Gaza and accused Guterres of "spreading slander against Israel".
Israel blockaded Gaza on 2 March
Israel blockaded Gaza on 2 March, after the first stage of a ceasefire expired. Hamas refused to extend that part of the truce, accusing Israel of reneging on its commitments.
Israel then renewed its aerial bombardment and ground offensive on 18 March and these have since killed 1,449 Palestinians, according to the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza. The Israeli military insists it does not target civilians.
In his address to journalists, Guterres said Israel, as the occupying power, had obligations under international law to ensure that food and medical supplies get to the population.
Responding to the comments, Israel's foreign ministry said there was no aid shortage in Gaza.
"As always, you don't let the facts get in the way when spreading slander against Israel," spokesman Oren Marmorstein said.
"There is no shortage of humanitarian aid in the Gaza Strip - over 25,000 aid trucks have entered the Gaza Strip in the 42 days of the cease fire," he added.
Guterres's comments followed a joint statement issued by six UN agencies on Monday that said world leaders must act urgently to make sure food and aid supplies get to Palestinians in the Strip.
Gazans were "trapped, bombed and starved again", the statement said.
"The latest ceasefire allowed us to achieve in 60 days what bombs, obstruction and lootings prevented us from doing in 470 days of war: life-saving supplies reaching nearly every part of Gaza," it said.
"While this offered a short respite, assertions that there is now enough food to feed all Palestinians in Gaza are far from the reality on the ground, and commodities are running extremely low."
The statement was signed by the heads of:
- OCHA - UN's Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs
- Unicef - UN's children's agency
- WFP - World Food Programme
- WHO - World Health Organization
- Unrwa - UN agency for Palestinian refugees
- UNOPS - UN Office for Project Services
Because of the blockade, all UN-supported bakeries have closed, markets are empty of most fresh vegetables and hospitals are rationing painkillers and antibiotics.
The statement says that Gaza's "partially functional health system is overwhelmed [and]... essential medical and trauma supplies are rapidly running out."
"With the tightened Israeli blockade on Gaza now in its second month, we appeal to world leaders to act – firmly, urgently and decisively – to ensure the basic principles of international humanitarian law are upheld.
"Protect civilians. Facilitate aid. Release hostages. Renew a ceasefire."
The two-month pause in fighting saw a surge in humanitarian aid let into Gaza, as well as the release by Hamas of 33 hostages - eight of them dead - in exchange for about 1,900 Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.
Israel turns Gaza into ‘killing field’ as charity kitchen bombed, children starving
The UN's Antonio Guterres rejected Israel’s proposal to control and block aid deliveries coming into Gaza, while Israel pounded the Strip.
MENA The New Arab Staff 09 April, 2025
Continued Israeli bombing across the Gaza Strip targeted a charity kitchen in Khan Younis on Monday, and close to a clinic in what should have been the safe zone of al-Mawasi.
At least 26 Palestinians were killed on Tuesday, with the toll including children.
On Wednesday, at least four Palestinians, including a child, were killed in an airstrike that targeted two tents and a home in southern and central Gaza.
A medical source also reported that two Palestinians were killed in a strike that targeted tents housing the displaced in Khan Younis, while an additional two were killed in an apartment building belonging to the al-Hajj family in the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza.
Eyewitnesses told local media that the Israeli army is also continuing its policy of bombing residential buildings northwest of Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip.
The heavy bombardment comes as a Hamas leader reiterated the "need to reach a ceasefire" in Gaza, adding that they remain in contact with mediators however, no new truce proposals have been put forward.
Hussam Badran, one of Hamas’ political bureau members, added: "This war can not continue indefinitely. It is imperative to reach a ceasefire".
The Palestinian Ministry of Health also raised the alarm over the health situation in Gaza on Wednesday, stating that around 60,000 children in the enclave are at risk of severe health conditions.
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| Israeli bombing across the Gaza Strip targeted a charity kitchen in Khan Younis on Monday [Getty] |
The ministry added that Israel's closing of land crossings could exacerbate the number of people suffering from malnutrition, and the lack of clean drinking water could also compound health issues.
Meanwhile, the UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, on Tuesday rejected Israel’s proposal to control and block aid deliveries coming into Gaza, stating it risks "further controlling and callously limiting aid down to the last calorie and grain of flour".
"Let me be clear: We will not participate in any arrangement that does not fully respect the humanitarian principles: humanity, impartiality, independence and neutrality," he added.
He further described Gaza as a "killing field," adding that "civilians are in an endless death loop".
Israel has blocked all aid, food, medicine, and vital resources from entering Gaza for over a month since 2 March.
Over 51,700 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces since 7 October 2023. The war has plunged the Strip into a deep humanitarian crisis and levelled entire neighbourhoods.🔺
