The World Health Organization warned on Thursday that the Gaza Strip, especially its northern part, suffers from severe shortages of medicines, food, fuel and shelter, calling on Israel to allow more aid to enter it and facilitate humanitarian operations in it.

According to AFP, the UN described the situation on the ground as “catastrophic”.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that when the war in Gaza broke out more than a year ago following the unprecedented Hamas offensive on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, almost all of those displaced by the conflict sought refuge in public buildings or stayed with relatives.

Speaking at a news conference at the organization’s headquarters in Geneva, he said: “Now, 90 percent of them live in tents.”

“This makes them vulnerable to respiratory and other diseases, while cold weather, rain and floods are expected to exacerbate food insecurity and malnutrition,” he said.

A UN-backed report earlier this month warned that the specter of famine hangs over the northern Gaza Strip, where shelling and fighting have intensified and food aid has come to a near standstill.