Days from the beginning of the holy month of Ramadan and with no ceasefire

agreement in sight for Gaza, UN humanitarians reiterated deep concerns on

Thursday that a growing number of children are dying of starvation.
“The situation is appalling. Every minute, every hour, it is getting worse,” the UN
agency for Palestinians, UNWRA, said in a tweet on X, formerly Twitter.

A maximum of 150 lorries have been reaching Gaza every day. In the north, one in six
children under the age of two is acutely malnourished and media reports have indicated
that at least 20 youngsters have died from starvation in recent days, including a 14-day-
old baby.

Later on Thursday, the UN Security Council held consultations on the situation behind
closed doors and was briefed by Senior Humanitarian and Reconstruction
Coordinator Sigrid Kaag.

‘Massive’ aid scale up needed

Speaking to the press after the briefing, Ms. Kaag highlighted that her message to the
ambassadors was the need for predictable and massively increased quality
humanitarian assistance at scale for civilians in Gaza.

“We need to flood the market in Gaza with humanitarian goods as well as re-
energize the private sector so commercial goods can enter to meet the need of
civilians,” she said.
She also reiterated that humanitarian assistance “is not an exercise in counting trucks”.

“We need to know that it meets the needs and volume,” she added.

Ms. Kaag also highlighted the importance of diversifying the supply routes via land,
which remains the optimal solution. It is easier, faster, cheaper and more sustainable in
the long run, she said, noting also the importance of opening additional crossings.

Referring to reports of countries working on the establishment of a maritime corridor to

Gaza, Ms. Kaag said that such measures to scale up aid were welcomed.

At the same time, humanitarian supplies via air or sea are “not a substitute for what we
need to see arrive on land”, she said.

Over 30,000 killed

Well over 30,000 people have now been killed amid intense daily Israeli bombardment
across Gaza in response to Hamas-led terror attacks in Israel on 7 October that left
some 1,200 dead and more than 240 taken hostage.

Negotiations initially in Qatar and this week in Cairo for a ceasefire linked to the release
of the remaining approximately 100 hostages and far greater aid access throughout
Gaza have so far not resulted in an end to the violence nor alleviated the humanitarian
catastrophe.