UNRWA Official Describes 'Catastrophic' Conditions in Northern Gaza
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – A senior UNRWA official has depicted the situation in northern Gaza as “catastrophic”, citing relentless attacks, severe shortages of essentials, and restricted aid access amid ongoing military operations.
“Horrific, incident after incident being meted out to a population which is on its knees,” Sam Rose, the senior deputy director of UNRWA affairs in Gaza said, emphasizing the gravity of the situation.
Rose reported that Israel has conducted “relentless attacks on civilian populations in the most awful of conditions in Jabalia, and people who fled to Beit Lahiya have themselves been bombed.”
He stressed the challenges in assessing the full impact of the situation due to intense fighting and limited access.
Rose noted that Israel has blocked most aid missions to northern Gaza, with only a few missions reaching hospitals.
“We are not typically given reasons; we are told it’s not possible to facilitate the missions for operational reasons,” he explained.
“Most of the aid missions have only been able to reach Gaza City. We have not been able to access the north, where the siege and intense military operations are taking place,” Rose added.
According to him, UNRWA has been forced to halt services, civil defense is no longer operational, and missions to retrieve bodies and rescue people trapped under rubble have been denied in recent days.
On Wednesday, the Municipality of Beit Lahiya declared a state of disaster in the town, citing the lack of essential services and describing the situation as the result of an “Israeli war of extermination.”
“We declare that the city is a disaster area due to the Israeli war of extermination and siege, and it has no food, water, hospitals, doctors, services, or communications,” the municipality’s statement read.
Rose warned that Gaza’s population is nearing famine and catastrophic food insecurity after months of shortages.
“People are already dying. We are reaching a point where over 10 percent of Gaza’s population has either been killed or injured. And it’s inevitable what will happen if supplies don’t arrive,” he cautioned.
Rose criticized Israel’s ban on UNRWA operations, asserting that no other organization can replicate the scale and depth of UNRWA’s services.
“For 75 years, UNRWA has been providing education and healthcare to generations of Palestinians. No other organization is equipped to do that or has the systems, staff, or local understanding to operate like we do,” he said.
Since the beginning of Israel's war on Gaza last year, at least 322 aid workers, including 315 Palestinians and seven foreigners, have been killed, according to OCHA.
This toll includes 237 UN staff, 33 Palestinian Red Crescent Society members, and 52 other aid workers from various NGOs.
