The United Nations has warned that the situation in Gaza is deteriorating rapidly, as Israeli forces continue to launch attacks at an alarming frequency of every eight to nine minutes. According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), Gaza City has witnessed continuous airstrikes, artillery shelling, and assaults from helicopters and other military equipment in the past 24 hours. Disturbingly, civilians waiting in line for desperately needed aid were also targeted, resulting in dozens of deaths and more than 200 injuries.
The heavy bombardment has forced thousands of families to flee in search of safety. OCHA estimates that around 16,500 people have been displaced from northern Gaza toward the south. However, conditions in southern Gaza remain extremely dire, with overcrowding, limited shelter, and inadequate access to food, water, and medical supplies. Hundreds of thousands of civilians are still trapped inside Gaza City, dependent on aid deliveries that are frequently obstructed by Israeli restrictions.
Aid Blocked Amid Rising Displacement and Violence in West Bank
Efforts to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza have faced major setbacks. The UN reported that it coordinated 15 aid missions with Israeli authorities, but only seven were fully successful. Water deliveries through the Kerem Shalom crossing were blocked, and permission for food supplies through other checkpoints was denied. Although the Allenby Bridge crossing between Jordan and the West Bank has been reopened for passenger travel, it remains closed to aid convoys. As a result, nearly 35 percent of relief materials stockpiled in Jordan remain undelivered.
The humanitarian crisis is not limited to Gaza alone. Since August 13, 2023, more than 3,000 Palestinians in the West Bank have been displaced due to violence from Israeli settlers and security forces, coupled with restrictions on movement. Half of the displaced are children, mainly from Bedouin and herding communities. The UN has urgently called on all parties—including Israel, Hamas, and other armed groups—to ensure the protection of civilians, grant safe passage to humanitarian workers, and uphold international humanitarian law.
