In a statement issued following his first visit to the Middle East as UN Emergency Relief Coordinator, Mr. Fletcher said that the Israeli authorities continue to prevent humanitarian workers from purposefully reaching those in need in the Strip, with more than a hundred requests for access to northern Gaza being denied since 6 October. In addition, the rule of law in Gaza has now clearly collapsed, with armed looting of humanitarian supplies by gangs systematic.

Mr. Fletcher noted that the International Court of Justice issued the first set of interim orders in the Case for the Application of the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide in the Gaza Strip in nearly a year, yet the continued pace of violence “means that there is no safe place for civilians in Gaza. Schools, hospitals and civilian infrastructure have been reduced to rubble.”

He added that the blockade of northern Gaza – which lasted for more than two months – “raised the specter of famine”, while the southern Strip is overcrowded, “creating appalling living conditions and greater humanitarian needs as winter sets in.”

“Across Gaza, Israeli airstrikes on densely populated areas continue, including areas where Israeli forces have ordered people to move, causing destruction, displacement and death.”