Desperation grows in Gaza, as aid struggles to reach affected families: Humanitarians

Desperation is growing among families in Gaza, as the conflict between Israel and Hamas makes it tough for aid convoys to deliver food, clean water and medical supplies to those affected, said humanitarians. 

The war between Israel and Hamas entered its fifth month on Wednesday (Feb 7). 

Israel has been pounding the Gaza Strip and carried out a ground invasion in their retaliatory campaign, since a surprise attack by Hamas militants on Oct 7 last year. 

More than 80 per cent of the enclave's population, some 1.9 million people, have been internally displaced, and the bulk of them stay in overcrowded shelters. 

TIRED, HUNGRY AND DISAPPOINTED POPULATION

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The situation is “very dire” as the fighting wears on, said Mr Ajith Sunghay, head of the UN Human Rights Office in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. 

“Fatigue (is) higher,” he told CNA’s Asia First on Wednesday.

“So what you have now is a desperate population, with a massive need for humanitarian aid. You have this population which is tired, hungry, and disappointed.”

Since the start of the conflict, about 100,000 people in Gaza have been killed, injured or are missing, according to the United Nations.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned on Wednesday that the world is entering “an age of chaos” with a deeply divided Security Council unable to address critical issues, including the Israel-Hamas war. 

He noted that if Israeli forces expand their operations into the southern city of Rafah – Gaza’s last refuge, it will “exponentially increase what is already a humanitarian nightmare with untold regional consequences”.