The UN special coordinator for the Middle East peace process Nikolay Mladenov on Tuesday voiced concern over the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza.
“Month after month we have raised the alarm about the humanitarian economic and ecological calamity under way. It bears repeating that the situation is unsustainable” Mladenov told the Security Council in a briefing.
Continuing power cuts of up to 20 hours per day severely undermine the provision of basic services. Without additional immediate fuel deliveries the situation could deteriorate with dramatic consequences he said.
As the humanitarian crisis in Gaza escalates the implementation of the Egyptian-brokered intra-Palestinian agreement has stalled he said. “Absent immediate steps to address the humanitarian crisis and to revive the economy we will face a total institutional and economic collapse in Gaza. This is not an alarmist prediction this is a fact.”
He urged the international community not to give up on support for the moderate Palestinian leadership and to address the economic collapse in Gaza.
The territory of 2 million people has been grappling with a humanitarian crisis amid a decade-long Israeli siege which has devastated the economy and reduced humanitarian aid entering the region to a trickle.
The blockade has caused a decline in living standards as well as unprecedented levels of unemployment and unrelenting poverty.
US cuts to UNRWA the UN agency that assists more than half of Gaza’s population have further complicated the situation.
