Gaza no longer habitable - UN

People in the Palestinian enclave are “desperate, hungry, and terrified,” the organization’s refugee chief has warned

Nine weeks of war have left Gaza unfit for human habitation, the head of the UN’s agency for Palestinian refugees announced on Thursday. With hunger rampant and UN shelters crammed to capacity, the organization demanded an immediate end to Israel’s siege of the enclave.

Speaking at a press conference in Geneva on Thursday, United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini described how Israel’s ground operation in Gaza has pushed more than a million refugees south to the city of Rafah.

“Rafah is the epicenter of the displacement,” Lazzarini said. “One [UN] warehouse that became a shelter is home to 30,000 people. The lucky ones have made it inside our premises. The others have absolutely nowhere to go. They live in the open, in the cold, in the mud, and under the rain. Everywhere you look is congested with makeshift shelters. Everywhere you go people are desperate, hungry, and are terrified.”