“Since the escalation of this conflict in October 2023, we have briefed this Council on no fewer than 16 occasions,” Joyce Msuya, Acting Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Acting Emergency Relief Coordinator, told a UN Security Council session on Palestine.

Condemning the toll of the recent escalations, Msuya said civilians have been “driven from their homes, stripped of their sense of place and dignity” and often forced to witness the deaths of their family members.

She recounted the horrific conditions facing injured children, who in some cases have had the words “Wounded Child, No Surviving Family” written on their arms.

Emphasizing that Gaza’s destruction has reached an unprecedented scale, with over 70% of civilian housing damaged or destroyed, Msuya asked: “What distinction was made, and what precautions were taken?”

“We are witnessing acts reminiscent of the gravest international crimes,” she stressed.

She noted that the “latest offensive that Israel started in North Gaza last month is an intensified, extreme and accelerated version of the horrors of the past year.”

Israel’s relentless attacks are now affecting approximately 75,000 people trapped in North Gaza with limited food and water supplies, she added.

Criticizing the Israeli blockade of fuel needed to operate digging equipment to rescue civilians trapped under rubble, Msuya decried that “the daily cruelty we see in Gaza seems to have no limits”.

“People under siege now tell us they are afraid that they will be targeted if they receive help,” she continued.

Msuya further raised alarm over the Israeli Knesset’s recent bill that aims to ban the activities of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) starting in January.

“If implemented, this bill will be another devastating blow to efforts to provide lifesaving aid and avert the threat of famine. No other organization can fill these gaps,” she warned.

Calling for immediate international action, Msuya urged UN member states to use “diplomatic and economic pressure, responsible arms transfers, and combating impunity” to prevent further suffering.

She implored the Security Council to employ “its powers under the UN Charter to ensure compliance with international law and full implementation of its resolutions”.

The Israeli army has continued a deadly onslaught in northern Gaza since early October to reportedly prevent the Palestinian resistance group Hamas from regrouping amid a siege on the area. Palestinians, however, accuse Israel of seeking to occupy the area and forcibly displace its residents.

More than 1,900 people have been killed and thousands more wounded in northern Gaza since the offensive began, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.

The aggression is the latest episode in a brutal Israeli war on Gaza since an attack by Hamas in October last year, despite a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire.

More than 43,600 people have since been killed, mostly women and children, and over 102,000 others injured, according to local health authorities.

The Israeli assault has displaced almost the territory’s entire population amid an ongoing blockade that has led to severe shortages of food, clean water, and medicine.

Israel faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its actions in Gaza.

Ismail al-Thawabta, the office’s director, told Anadolu that the attacks have disproportionately affected women, children and the elderly.

Al-Thawabta called on the international community to intervene immediately, condemning the Israeli actions as a campaign of mass extermination against Palestinians in Gaza, particularly in the north.

He attributed responsibility for the humanitarian crisis to the US, UK and European nations, accusing them of complicity in policies of “starvation and mass killing”.

Al-Thawabta also accused Israel of misleading the global community with “false maps” showing expanded “safe zones” for civilians in Gaza.

He added that despite these zones being marked as “safe”, they are frequently bombarded.

“The Israeli military distributes maps with yellow-colored areas labeled as humanitarian and safe, only to target these areas with bombs and missiles, resulting in civilian casualties, including women, children and the elderly.”

Al-Thawabta criticized Israel for blocking essential humanitarian aid from entering Gaza, noting that food and medicine have not been allowed through.

The closure of the Rafah crossing, a vital aid route with Egypt, for the past 190 days has led to severe shortages of essential supplies, he said.

He estimated that roughly 600,000 tons of aid and food supplies remain stuck on the Egyptian side of Rafah, with Israel refusing to permit entry.

International and UN agencies recently warned that northern Gaza is on the verge of a famine due to relentless Israeli bombardments and a blockade that began on Oct. 5.

According to aid organizations, critical shortages of food, clean water and medical supplies have made survival increasingly dire for residents in the north.

In recent weeks, similar crises have spread southward as food staples, particularly flour, have been exhausted in markets and homes across central and southern Gaza.

In many cases, families have resorted to using spoiled flour to feed their children as well as other unsafe substitutes, raising further health concerns among an already vulnerable population.

Northern Gaza has been under a full military blockade since Israel’s ground operation began on Oct. 27, 2023, compounding a pre-existing scarcity of food, medicine and fuel that has led to widespread suffering, particularly among children and the elderly.

Israel has continued a devastating offensive on Gaza since an attack by the Palestinian resistance group Hamas in October 2023, despite a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire.

Nearly 43,700 people have since been killed in Gaza, mostly women and children, and over 103,000 injured, according to Palestinian health authorities.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its deadly war on Gaza.