Telling of the agony of Gazans suffering burning wounds from Israeli attacks, the UN on Wednesday denounced the escalating humanitarian crisis in Gaza and urged the international community to take immediate action.
Joyce Msuya, acting under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs, described the catastrophic toll on civilians in Gaza, with vivid accounts of patients “burning alive” after an Israeli airstrike on the courtyard of Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in the central Gaza Strip.
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“There is no way to get them the urgent care they need to survive and manage such injuries. If such horror does not awaken our sense of humanity and propel us to action, what will?” Msuya said at a UN Security Council session on Palestine, as requested by Algeria.
Msuya emphasized the need for accountability, and said: “The atrocities in Gaza must end, but this cannot happen through words; it must happen through action – urgent, unequivocal action.”
Saying that “the level of suffering Gaza defies our ability to capture it in words or even to comprehend it,” she stressed that the “reality is brutal in Gaza, and it gets worse every day” with Israel’s relentless bombardment and blocking of supplies essential for survival.
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“No food aid entered northern Gaza from October 2 to October 15, when a trickle was allowed in, and all essential supplies for survival are running out,” she noted.
Msuya further highlighted the recent humanitarian efforts of a UN-led team that, after being blocked nine times by Israel, finally managed to reach hospitals in northern Gaza.
“Drivers from the UN and the Palestine Red Crescent Society were subjected to humiliating treatment … Medical staff kept one child alive by hand pumping oxygen for over seven hours until they made it through the checkpoint,” she said, adding that “this gives just a glimpse of the daily work of humanitarians in Gaza.”
Demanding respect for international humanitarian law, she called on Security Council members to use their influence to ensure the protection of civilians and meet their needs.