UN coordinator says widespread destruction across Khan Younis, Gazans ‘struggle to survive’

Anjali Sharma

GG News Bureau
UNITED NATIONS, 12th April. UN Humanitarian Coordinator for the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Jamie McGoldrick on Thursday said that people in Gaza are struggling to survive, he was part of a team carried out an assessment mission in Khan Younis after the Israeli military withdrawal last week.

Jamie McGoldrick said “Humanitarians are working hard to support them, but we need security, access and reliable facilitation by Israeli forces, whose responsibilities don’t end when supplies are dropped off at the border”.

He said that every building the team visited and most they could see had been damaged, with paved roads reduced to dirt tracks.

The team inspected a UN warehouse, four medical centres and eight schools.

They reported seeing very significant damage in all but one of those buildings.

Mr. McGoldrick said the UN was providing services for 116,000 people in that one location, as he was speaking at the Fukhari Shelter and a UNRWA school,

He said the community there needs more supplies and support, including with food, water, health and sanitation.

The team stressed that streets and public spaces in Khan Younis are littered with unexploded ordnance, posing severe risks to civilians, especially children.

The team found unexploded 1,000-pound bombs lying on the main intersections and inside schools.

Residents described dire shortages of food and water and the loss of critical health services due to the destruction of Al-Nasser and Al-Amal hospitals.

Mr. McGoldrick represented UN humanitarians and partners on Wednesday in a meeting with the Southern Command of the Israeli Defense Forces, as well as COGAT, the Israeli body responsible for the flow of aid in Gaza.

He presented a list of requests to improve the delivery of assistance throughout Gaza at the necessary scale to avert wide scale famine.

UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini said that for Muslim Palestinians, the end of Eid Al Fitr came as Gazans are trapped in “one of the most brutal wars in recent history”,.

“It is very hard to celebrate amid de-humanization, pain and grieving hearts,” he said on X.

He called for a ceasefire in Gaza and elsewhere.

UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said in New York that “we will continue to work with all those committed to alleviating the humanitarian suffering in Gaza and to advocate for principled and safe aid delivery.

“That is our commitment and obligations to our teams and to the people we serve.”

UNICEF reported that one of their vehicles was hit by live ammunition on Wednesday while waiting to enter northern Gaza.

The agency said the incident has been raised with the relevant Israeli authorities.

UNICEF said in a statement “Unless humanitarian aid workers are protected, in accordance with international humanitarian law, aid cannot reach people in need”.