DOHA: The United Nations’ humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths on Sunday warned of the catastrophic consequences of aid shortages in the besieged Gaza Strip. He warned of famine in the besieged Palestinian territory due to aid shortages.
“If fuel runs out, aid does not get to the people where they need it, that famine, which we have talked about for so long, and which is looming, will not be looming anymore. It will be present,” Griffiths said.
Speaking from Doha after meetings with Qatari officials, Griffiths emphasized the urgent need to address the dire situation in Gaza, where a stranglehold on aid threatens to exacerbate an already precarious situation.
“The consequences of aid shortages reaching Gaza could be nothing short of apocalyptic,” Griffiths warned.
Griffiths underscored the gravity of the situation, particularly after the Israeli incursion into the southern Gaza city of Rafah, which has intensified the humanitarian crisis in the region. Battles near key crossings have effectively blocked key routes for aid delivery, leaving countless Palestinian civilians in desperate need of assistance.
The UN’s Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator lamented the dire predicament facing the people of Gaza, with tens of thousands forced to flee amid dwindling supplies of fuel, food, and medicine.
“The military action in Rafah is exactly what we feared it would be—a disaster in humanitarian terms,” Griffiths lamented, noting the devastating impact on displaced populations who now face their fourth or fifth displacement.
“And we all said that very clearly, that a Rafah operation is a disaster in humanitarian terms, a disaster for the people already displaced to Rafah. This is now their fourth or fifth displacement,” he said.
Griffiths lamented the erosion of diplomatic norms and consensus-building efforts on the global stage. With dialogue and negotiation increasingly sidelined, he warned of an “angry world” grappling with the consequences of inaction in the face of humanitarian crises like that unfolding in Gaza.
The UN said on Saturday that 800,000 people had been “forced to flee” Israel’s assault in Rafah.
Since October 7 last year, Israel has launched a relentless bombardment campaign in Gaza that has killed at least 35,386 Palestinian people in Gaza, mostly civilians, according to data provided by the territory’s health ministry.
On Thursday, the Arab League called for a UN peacekeeping force to be deployed in the Palestinian territories and for an international conference to resolve the Palestinian issue on the basis of the two-state solution.
All of the predictions about the consequences of an operation in Rafah are coming true.
There is almost no food left and humanitarian efforts are stuck.
The world has lost its way and needs to return to the norms we created.
My interview with @Reuters: https://t.co/uNJxt72jdr pic.twitter.com/rBjlY3tn67
— Martin Griffiths (@UNReliefChief) May 17, 2024
