TEHRAN - The United Nations has announced an almost complete halt in humanitarian aid to northern Gaza for at least 66 days.

The “significant” disruption by the Israeli military to facilitate the entry of basic supplies has left between 65,000 and 75,000 Palestinians without food, water, or healthcare for more than two months now.

In northern Gaza, the Israeli occupation regime continues to impose a deadly siege on Beit Lahia, Beit Hanoun, and Jabalia, where residents have been denied access to any form of aid. 

According to a report by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), around 5,500 people were displaced from three schools in Beit Lahia to Gaza City, 

In addition to the food crisis, OCHA said that only four UN-supported bakeries are currently operating across Gaza, all of them located in Gaza City. 

Speaking to reporters after briefing the UN Security Council behind closed doors, Sigrid Kaag, the senior UN humanitarian and reconstruction coordinator for Gaza, described the situation for Palestinian civilians trying to survive in Gaza as “utterly catastrophic”.

Israeli military issues new evacuation order in area of Gaza previously designated as a “safe zone”“I have just briefed the Security Council, as you know, in close session about the utterly devastating situation in Gaza. I’ve spoken about of the inhumane conditions in which our fellow human beings, civilians are trying to survive, the young and the old.”

She highlighted the collapse of the legal system and the chaos that exacerbated the situation, rendering the UN and other humanitarian organizations unable to deliver food and basic humanitarian supplies to hundreds of thousands of Palestinians in need. 

Kaag emphasized that “UN measures alone are insufficient without political will to break the deadlock and overcome numerous obstacles.” She added, “There is no substitute for political will, as this is a fundamentally political matter.”

Kaag and other UN officials continue to call on the Israeli regime to allow humanitarian convoys into northern Gaza and other areas, permit the entry of commercial goods, and reopen the Rafah crossing.

Reports have warned that famine in Gaza has reached its most critical stage as a result of the Israeli military’s blockade on the Strip.

Since October 7, 2023, Israeli forces have been conducting daily air, sea, and ground assaults on Gaza. 

Late Tuesday night into Wednesday, dozens of Palestinians were killed and injured as Israeli forces bombed homes in the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza and around Kamal Adwan Hospital in the northern Beit Lahia refugee camp.

Reporters on the ground have spoken about dozens of casualties and missing people following an airstrike on a house west of the Nuseirat camp, in central Gaza. 

Additionally, an Israeli strike targeted a building near Kamal Adwan Hospital that housed 30 people, including women and children. Palestinian media reported at least 22 people have been killed and several others missing in the attack.

Local sources also reported that a Palestinian mother and her two children were killed by Israeli forces in the vicinity of the Kamal Adwan Hospital while Israeli aircraft launched a series of strikes on the Tel al-Zaatar in Jabalia camp in northern Gaza.
Israeli artillery shelling coincided with the firing of illumination flares around Kamal Adwan Hospital. 

The Hospital’s Director, Dr. Hussam Abu Safia, said on Wednesday, “The situation in northern Gaza has deteriorated dramatically since yesterday. The bombing did not stop throughout the night, with more than seven explosive-laden drones being used around Kamal Adwan Hospital, bombing entire buildings and destroying residential blocks.”

“The debris and explosions directly hit the hospital, shattering doors and windows, and terrorizing the patients inside as Kamal Adwan Hospital is currently treating more than 120 injured,” he explained. 

In Jabalia’s al-Alami neighborhood, the Israeli military destroyed numerous homes using explosive barrels and robots. 

Homes were also demolished in Beit Lahia and the Beit Lahia area, while airstrikes targeted the al-Saftawi and al-Karama neighborhoods in northwest Gaza City later in the day. 

The Israeli aggression has continued unabated since October 7, 2023, causing widespread destruction and severe humanitarian crises, with thousands of casualties still trapped under rubble or inaccessible to emergency crews.

The U.S.-backed genocidal Israeli war on Gaza has killed almost 45,000 people, mostly women and children.

At least 106,200 others have sustained serious injuries, according to preliminary figures.