UN Warns of Worsening Emergency in Gaza as Aid Operations Face Shutdown

This suspension could trigger hospital closures and exacerbate malnutrition, escalating the crisis to unprecedented levels, officials cautioned.

Georgios Petropoulos, head of the Gaza sub-office of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, emphasized the severity of the situation during a briefing with reporters, stating, "The situation in Gaza has reached even more unprecedented levels of emergency."

UNICEF's senior emergency coordinator, Hamish Young, provided updates on the escalating humanitarian crisis, noting that over 100,000 individuals have fled the bombarded city of Rafah, which faces the looming threat of a full-scale Israeli ground invasion.

Meanwhile, the UN General Assembly is poised to vote on an Arab League-proposed resolution today, aiming to grant Palestine new "rights and privileges" while urging the Security Council to reconsider its stance on Palestine's bid for full UN membership. This move follows the recent US veto of a council resolution supporting Palestine's membership aspirations.

US Deputy Ambassador Robert Wood reiterated the American position, emphasizing the importance of pursuing UN membership through negotiations with Israel. Despite potential opposition in the Security Council, the resolution is anticipated to garner significant support in the General Assembly, where vetoes do not apply.

Meanwhile, Ori Goldberg, an Israeli political commentator, told Al Jazeera that the fate of Rafah’s population is being used by Israel as a bargaining chip amid growing tension with the US over the conduct of its war on the Palestinian territory.

“Right now the Palestinians in Rafah are pawns in a game that is mostly being played between Israel and the United States. It’s not with Hamas,” Goldberg said, adding “If Netanyahu can deliver on a deal, which is the only achievement he can have as an offensive on Rafah is not considered an achievement, even in Israel…. We’ve seen Israel attack, decimate, destroy mercilessly. The attacks now on Rafah, as sad as it is to say, are still more of a ploy than they are an offensive plan. Israel has nothing to accomplish in Rafah”.

At least 34,904 people have been killed and 78,514 wounded in Israeli attacks on Gaza since October 7.