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Gaza City: Daily bombardment, more displacement amid escalating military offensive

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UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said people are once again on the move after Israel placed the entire city under displacement orders. Aid partners recorded more than 25,000 displacements between Sunday through Wednesday.

Some critical services have already been suspended while some humanitarian facilities have suffered severe damage, disrupting operations and the delivery of essential services.

Aid partners suspend activities

“Our partners working on health, report that some of them have had to suspend activities at primary healthcare centres, while partners working on nutrition say that 12 out of 49 outpatient therapeutic sites have halted services amid the ongoing airstrikes in Gaza City,” he said,

At least two community kitchens have also suspended operations, and three others have had to relocate within the city.

Furthermore, UN partners working on education are concerned that 95 temporary learning sites in northern Gaza serving about 25,000 children may be at imminent risk of closure due to displacement orders and ongoing insecurity.

Child malnutrition worsens

UN child rights agency UNICEF has also warned that child malnutrition in the Gaza Strip continues to worsen at an alarming rate. 

The percentage of children identified as acutely malnourished increased to 13.5 per cent in August, from 8.3 per cent in July – or 12,800 boys and girls.

Mr. Dujarric said UNICEF has been working to scale up the entry of essential nutrition supplies and distribute them, alongside nutrition partners, at about 140 sites across the Gaza Strip.

“While stocks of ready-to-use therapeutic food have recently increased, the current quantities of other critical nutrition supplies for infants and pregnant and breastfeeding women are wholly insufficient,” he said.

Meanwhile, almost half of all functioning hospitals are located in Gaza City, including half of all intensive care unit beds for the entire Gaza Strip, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

With the Israeli offensive already underway, the Gaza Strip cannot afford to lose any of these remaining facilities, the UN agency said.

Impediments to aid delivery continue

These developments are happening as delays and impediments to humanitarian movements inside Gaza continue.

Missions still take long hours to complete, even when they are approved in advance by the Israeli authorities, meaning that teams have no choice but to wait on roads that are often dangerous or congested.

Additionally, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has recently observed an increase in denials of the participation of Palestinian staff in missions, including both drivers and personnel.

Mr. Dujarric noted that denials are often communicated at the last minute, resulting in operational delays as alternatives must be quickly identified.

“What we need is full facilitation of the work and movement of humanitarian actors into and throughout the Gaza Strip. This must include unimpeded access to the north and to the south alike,” he said, adding that “every delay can cost lives.” 

Daily malnutrition deaths continue as Israeli forces push further into Gaza City

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“Military activities continue in and around Gaza City, but also in the south, taking a heavy toll on civilians, including deaths, injuries and further displacement,” said UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric at the daily press briefing in New York: “Our colleagues report that people continue to flee, mainly towards the coast.”

More than 76,000 people have been newly displaced since mid-August, with most occurring in the north, he said, citing the latest reports from UN agencies on the ground that are monitoring population movements. More than 23,000 people were displaced from northern Gaza.

Coastal areas are also crowded with tents, forcing many people to flee from Gaza City in the north towards central areas, according to the UN humanitarian coordination agency, OCHA.

Famine response: ‘We can do this again’

Daily reports of malnutrition deaths continue, the UN Spokesperson said. Since the start of the nearly two-year-long war, more than 300 people, including many children, have died of malnutrition in the Strip, according to local authorities.

The World Food Programme (WFP) reported that the situation “continues to deteriorate”, the UN Spokesperson added, adding that families without able-bodied members to fetch food are facing the highest risks.

As such, the UN agency resumed last week its distribution system of digital vouchers, reaching 22,000 people, including vulnerable groups, following a five-month pause.

“We and our partners are continuing to transport aid and other medical supplies to and from the crossings [into Gaza], but the current situations on the ground have not yet allowed us to resume community-based distribution,” Mr. Dujarric said. “Only a ceasefire will ensure necessary conditions for a massive response to prevent famine from spreading further.”

During the previous ceasefire from January to March, he said “we reached nearly every single person in the Gaza Strip with lifesaving aid, and we can do this again.”

Obstacles delay urgent aid deliveries

WFP said obstacles include supply shortages and violent unrest around convoys which is making distributions “nearly impossible”.

According to the UN humanitarian agency, the movement of aid teams inside Gaza remains heavily restricted. OCHA also reported that about one in three planned missions were “impeded or outright denied by Israeli authorities” between Friday and Monday, the UN Spokesperson said.

As a result, many missions could not be completed, he said, also noting that strict Israeli inspections continue to significantly delay aid clearance at Ashdod Port.

Visas for top Palestinian officials blocked

News reports indicated that the United States announced last week that it would not issue visas to senior Palestinian leaders ahead of the high-level General Assembly meetings later this month at UN Headquarters in New York.

That includes a conference on 22 September where Heads of State and Government are expected to endorse a political declaration adopted by leaders attending an international conference in late July, endorsing the two-State solution.

Responding to a reporter’s question on the matter, Mr. Dujarric said “the participation of a senior Palestinian delegation to the conference is essential.”

UNRWA chief levels charge of ‘scholasticide’

Philippe Lazzarini, Commissioner-General of the UN agency for Palestine refugees, UNRWA, raised alarms at what would have been the start to the school year for more than 600,000 children in Gaza.

“Gaza is in ruins; so is its education system,” he said in a statement on Monday. “Instead of going back to school, like most children around the world, around 660,000 girls and boys in Gaza will be sifting through the rubble, desperate, hungry, traumatised and mostly bereaved.”

The longer they stay out of school with their trauma, the higher the risk they become “a lost generation, sowing the seeds for more hatred and violence”, the UNRWA chief warned.

“Ceasefire is the only way forward to reverse the famine and the ‘scholasticide’ hitting the children of Gaza,” he said.

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In Gaza, daily food intake has fallen well below ‘survival’ level

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Latest data simulations from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) point to the average Gazan eating just 1,400 calories per day – “or 67 per cent of what a human body needs to survive” (2,300 calories) as of May.

Between October 2023 and the end of December 2024, average intake was 1,510 calories per day, or 72 per cent of the minimum recommended amount.

“The findings reveal systemic and escalating violations of both international human rights law and international humanitarian law, particularly concerning the right to adequate food, the prohibition of starvation as a method of warfare, and the protection of civilians in armed conflict,” FAO insisted.

Even based on its most optimistic food availability scenario, the UN agency estimated that energy intake was just 1,470 calories per person per day on 11 May, during the complete aid blockade imposed by Israel, beginning 2 March.

“This has critical implications for hunger and undernutrition, especially for families without cash and/or able-bodied men, as well as children, pregnant and lactating women, person with disabilities and the elderly,” FAO explained.

The agency noted that its analysis is in line with dire warnings of acute hunger across Gaza issued by UN-backed food security experts last month, based on the lack of available wheat flour, pulses, rice, dairy products, and vegetable oil.

Without an improvement in the amount of aid being allowed into Gaza for distribution by established agencies, FAO warned that the already dire humanitarian situation could deteriorate even further.

This is despite repeated calls to Israel from the United Nations including from the Secretary-General to allow more aid in at scale, in line with “binding orders” issued by the International Court of Justice to fully cooperate with the UN and ensure that aid reaches the people of Gaza without delay.

Unknown numbers of dead

Gaza’s population today is approximately 2.1 million, down from 2.23 million in October 2023 before the war began following Hamas-led terror attacks in Israel.

Citing the Palestinian authorities, FAO said that as of 30 April, 52,400 Palestinians had been reported killed, while another 11,000 were feared missing, presumably under the rubble.

While more than 60,000 children have been born in the Gaza Strip during the conflict, “an unknown number of Palestinians have died of natural causes or indirectly from the conflict, due to hunger, untreated diseases or injuries since October 2023”, FAO said.

The UN agency also referred to a June 2024 article by the authoritative medical journal The Lancet suggesting that up to 186,000 people would likely die from indirect causes because of the conflict, at a “conservative” rate of four indirect deaths for every direct death.

According to FAO’s simulation, 2,297 tonnes – equivalent to 120 trucks – per day are required to deliver food baskets providing 2,100 calories per person per day to the entire population of the Gaza Strip. On Wednesday, UN teams requested access for 130 truckloads of aid via Kerem Shalom, but only 50 carrying flour were approved to enter from Israel.

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UN rights chief calls for end to daily killings in Ukraine after deadly weekend attacks

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The majority of those killed and injured were in major cities such as Kyiv, Kharkiv, and Mykolaiv, or in populated areas in other regions.

Meanwhile, large numbers of long-range drones launched into Russia by Ukrainian armed forces injured at least 11 civilians over the weekend, according to Russian authorities.

Silence the guns

High Commissioner Volker Türk underscored the urgency for an end to hostilities.

“It is time to put an end to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, to commit to – and implement – a comprehensive ceasefire that stops the daily killing and destruction, and to start genuine peace negotiations, built on respect for international law,” he said.

He highlighted that – even amid ongoing hostilities – people deprived of their liberty must be protected. Summary executions, torture and all forms of inhumane and degrading treatment of prisoners are always prohibited, in any circumstances, and must stop immediately.

In addition, civilian detainees should be released as soon as the lawful reason for their detention ceases to exist and their protection against refoulement must be ensured, he said.

Relief, but also loss

High Commissioner Türk welcomed the recent exchange of prisoners of war and civilian detainees.

Nearly 900 prisoners of war and 120 civilians from each side were exchanged. Most of the civilians appeared to have been detainees, but details on individuals included in the exchange are not yet available, according to his office, OHCHR.

“Many families can now breathe a sigh of relief because their loved ones have finally returned home,” Mr. Türk said.

“But at the same time, other families have lost relatives and their homes, as their communities across Ukraine came under attack.”

Impact on children

In a separate statement, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) expressed deep concern for the impact of the latest attacks on Ukraine’s children.

Munir Mammadzade, UNICEF Representative in Ukraine, said that in the past three days, at least three children were reportedly killed in Zhytomyr, and at least 13 children were injured in several regions across the country.

“Ukraine’s children have suffered for far too long. How many more futures must be stolen? The senseless violence and loss of young lives must stop,” Mr. Mammadzade said.

According to UNICEF, more than 220 children were killed or injured between January and April 2025 – a 40 per cent increase compared to the same period last year.

“Attacks on civilian areas must end, and children must always be protected,” Mr. Mammadzade emphasised. “Above all, children need an end to this war.”

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