No food or supplies have entered Gaza in over three weeks in the longest stretch yet without aid entering the enclave, the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees said Friday, as Israel intensifies its military operations amid the crushing near-complete blockade, plunging the Gaza Strip into deeper desperation.
“Critical supplies, including food and medical equipment, are severely depleted and urgently needed to address the already catastrophic humanitarian crisis,” said an UNRWA report published Friday.
The World Food Programme said in an operational update Thursday that it only had enough food stocks to last another two weeks, “if supplies are stretched.”
“Hundreds of thousands of people in Gaza are again at risk of severe hunger and malnutrition as humanitarian food stocks in the Strip dwindle and borders remain closed to aid,” the WFP said.
The UNRWA report noted that on March 18, after Israel broke its ceasefire with Hamas with intense airstrikes, over 180 children were killed in single day, which UNICEF called “one of the largest single-day child death tolls in the last year.”
Thedeath toll since the current conflict began on Oct. 7, 2023, has since surpassed 50,000, according to health authorities.
OnFriday evening, anIsraeli missilestruck theAwad family homeinAl-Zaytoun, east ofGaza City, killing15 people, includingseven women and five children, two of them toddlers.
AnNBC Newsteam capturedthe momentAtef Awad, a surviving family member, waited for rescuers to pull the bodies of his loved ones from the rubble.
“This is Abdullah, 14 years old, and this is Najwa, just 2 years old,”he said.“The world celebrates the birthdays of its children, and we celebrate their deaths.”
The Israel Defense Forces did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
While some grieve as their families are pulled from the wreckage, others search hospitals for missing loved ones. InsideAl-Ahli Baptist HospitalinGaza City,Daoud Awadlifted the shrouds of the dead, searching desperately for the bodies of his loved ones.
“Where is my daughter? Where is my son?”he called out, his voice cracking as he searched.
Abdullah Al-Majdalawi, a firefighter and rescue worker, described the immense challenges his team faces in retrieving bodies, citing the severe lack of equipment and resources.
His story underscores the struggles faced by aid workers in the enclave, who put their lives at risk to help survivors.
ThePalestine Red Crescent Societyreported Saturday that for theseventh consecutive day, the fate ofnine emergency medicsremains unknown after they were“besieged and targeted by Israeli forces”inRafah.
The PRCS also saidIsraeli authoritiesrefused to allow rescue teams into theTel al-Sultanarea to search for the missing medics, calling on theinternational communityto pressure Israel to“reveal the fate of the missing teams.”
UNRWAalso reported thatfour staffershad been injured by Israeli strikes in March, and that several distribution centers in Gaza had suffered damage.
According to thelocal Health Ministryin Gaza, more than50,000 people, including thousands of children, have been killed in Israel’s ongoing offensive.
Israel has stated its aim is to eliminateHamasto prevent a repeat of theOct. 7 attacks, in which1,200 people were killedand around250 others were taken hostage, according to Israeli officials.
Since breaking the ceasefire, Israel’s rhetoric has become increasingly hostile, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promising increasing military strength in its assault on Gaza, and threatening to take the land.
Israel’s aggressionaligns withthe United States’ more combativestance against Hamas and Gaza, with President Donald Trumpthreatening “the People of Gaza” earlier in March that if they continued to hold Israeli hostages, “you are DEAD!”
Freddie Clayton
Freddie Clayton is a freelance journalist based in London.
