On Friday, the Acting Director of UNRWA Affairs in Gaza, Sam Rose, highlighted that no aid has entered the Gaza Strip since the beginning of this month, March 2025, marking the longest such period since October 2023.
Rose shared these remarks during an online briefing at the United Nations’ weekly press conference held in Geneva.
Rose described the intense bombing of Gaza that followed the breach of a ceasefire on Tuesday, with medical sources reporting approximately 600 fatalities, including 200 women and children.
He also referred to ongoing evacuation orders issued by the Israeli occupying forces, which have triggered significant displacement, forcing many civilians to flee.
The bombings have disrupted essential services, making it difficult for civilians to access aid distribution centers and medical facilities.
Rose emphasized that the progress achieved during six weeks of ceasefire has been undone.
If the ceasefire isn’t reinstated, it will result in catastrophic human losses, further destruction of infrastructure and property, heightened risks of infectious diseases, and profound psychological trauma for Gaza’s two million residents, including one million children.
During the ceasefire, aid deliveries to Gaza had increased, surpassing the volume recorded in the previous six months. However, it remained below what is needed, and the current situation has deteriorated drastically.
Israeli occupation forces advanced on Friday morning into the western areas of Beit Lahia city, north of the Gaza Strip, amidst gunfire and artillery shelling of the area. The city of Beit Lahia is almost completely rubble after sixteen straight months of Israeli bombardment.
But after breaking the ceasefire agreement three days ago, Israeli forces returned to their relentless bombardment and now ground invasion to continue their stated objective of ethnically cleansing Gaza of its 2.4 million Palestinian residents.
Since Tuesday’s Israeli resumption of Gaza bombing, the Israeli strikes have claimed around 600 lives and injured over a thousand individuals, 70% of whom are children, women, or the elderly.
The genocide, ongoing since October 7, 2023, has left over 162,000 dead or injured, with the majority being women and children, and over 14,000 people reported missing.
The number of slain Palestinians in the Gaza Strip has surpassed 49,547, including more than 17,881 children and 12,298 women.
