Ramesh Rajasingham (on the screen), director of the Coordination Division of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, briefs the UN Security Council on the situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question, at the UN headquarters in New York, on April 5, 2024. Marking six months since the escalation of conflict in Gaza, the UN official on Friday briefed the Security Council, highlighting the severe humanitarian crisis and calling for urgent global response. (Loey Felipe/UN Photo/Handout via Xinhua)

Marking six months since the escalation of conflict in Gaza, a UN official on Friday briefed the Security Council, highlighting the severe humanitarian crisis and calling for urgent global response.

"Six months of heartache and grief," said Ramesh Rajasingham, director of the Coordination Division of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, detailing the harrowing consequences faced by the people of Gaza since the outbreak of hostilities.

With over 32,000 killed and 75,000 injured, the situation has reached a critical point, with children and women disproportionately affected, he said.

Rajasingham stressed, "It is clear there is no protection of civilians in Gaza," emphasizing the dire need for international intervention to safeguard innocent lives. The displacement has been catastrophic, with 1.7 million people, 75 percent of Gaza's population, forced from their homes into precarious living conditions.

The UN official recounted the devastating impact of the conflict, including the recent "unconscionable brutality" witnessed in the form of intense bombardments and ground operations, which have not only claimed hundreds of lives but have also severely hampered humanitarian efforts.

"On April 1, the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the besieged Al Shifa Medical Complex... revealed a hospital... almost entirely destroyed," he said.

Talking about the death of seven World Central Kitchen aid workers in Israeli airstrikes, Rajasingham said, "They had informed the Israeli army of their movements."

Despite these challenges, aid workers continue to strive towards delivering essential services to those in need. However, Rajasingham pointed out, "the scale and extent of the assistance we are able to get to people in Gaza is wholly insufficient."

Rajasingham called for safe, rapid, and unimpeded access for all humanitarian organizations to reach all civilians in need. 

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