The average person in Gaza is living on two pieces of bread per day – and the territory is a “scene of death and destruction”, the UN has said.
The UN’s Palestinian refugee agency, known as UNRWA, has painted a grim picture of the humanitarian situation in Gaza, which has been besieged and bombed by Israel in response to the attacks by Hamas, the militant group that controls the strip.
Thomas White, the agency’s director, said the average Gazan is living on two pieces of Arabic bread made from flour from UN stockpiles.
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UNRWA is supporting about 89 bakeries across Gaza, aiming to get bread to 1.7 million people.
But, he added in a video briefing from Gaza, “now people are beyond looking for bread. It’s looking for water”.
He said he had travelled “the length and breadth of Gaza in the last few weeks” and described the place as a “scene of death and destruction”.
He said no place is safe, and people fear for their lives.
Mr White pointed to other major problems – such as sewage, which is not being treated and instead is being pumped into the sea, he said.
“When you speak to municipal workers, the reality is once their fuel runs out, that sewage will flow in the streets,” he added.
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According to another UN official, only one of three water supply lines from Israel is operational.
“Many people are relying on brackish or saline groundwater, if at all,” said Lynn Hastings, UN deputy Mideast coordinator.