UN says Gaza faces deepening humanitarian catastrophe
The latest UN humanitarian office (OCHA) update warns of worsening starvation, mounting casualties, and collapsing services across the Gaza Strip.
The UN and NGOs have said Israel’s plan to intensify military operations in Gaza City will have a “horrific humanitarian impact” on people who are already exhausted, displaced and malnourished. They have also said it could amount to forcible transfer – a crime against humanity.
Here are some of the key points from OCHA’s update:
- Hunger-related deaths and aid massacre casualties continue to rise.
- International NGOs face possible de-registration by Israeli authorities, with most unable to deliver aid since March.
- Severe shortages of medicine, food, clean water and shelter are leaving 1.4 million people without adequate housing.
- Children face escalating risks, including child labour, begging, malnutrition, and severe trauma.
- Sewage is flowing into the sea and streets, raising public health risks.
“Let us undo this man-made #famine in Gaza by:
- opening the gates without restrictions
- protecting journalists, humanitarian and health workers,” says UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini.
UNRWA alone has enough supplies in Jordan and Egypt to bring 6,000 trucks of… pic.twitter.com/tHjRt2TRLx
— UNRWA (@UNRWA) August 26, 2025
Israeli attacks amount to ‘destruction of life itself’: UNICEF
UNICEF has warned that Israel’s relentless bombardment of Gaza has become a “horrifying daily reality” for Palestinian children after nearly two years of war.
Amar Ammar, UNICEF’s regional advocacy director, said 1.1 million children are suffering deep psychological trauma on top of killings and injuries.
“What we are witnessing in Gaza is not just a war on children, it is the destruction of life itself,” he said, pointing to widespread hunger, forced displacement, and the devastation of schools, hospitals and homes.
UNICEF spokesperson Tess Ingram also said Israeli forces have killed children while they wait at nutrition centres supported by the agency. “These attacks often happen at night when children are asleep and unable to flee,” she said, noting that most child victims are aged two to five.
UNICEF said more than 18,000 children have been killed since the war began in October 2023 and thousands have been orphaned. Malnutrition is rising at “catastrophic” levels with one in four children now acutely malnourished, it said.
