Juliette Toma, the Director of Communications and Media at UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Works Agency) in Gaza, emphasized that the siege is the silent killer of Gaza’s residents.
She pointed out that continuous Israeli airstrikes with bombs and bullets are not the sole threat to life; the population also lacks access to food, clean water, healthcare facilities, and faces severed communication with the outside world.
According to the United Nations media center, during her second visit to Gaza, the UNRWA official stated that after three and a half months of the brutal Israeli war, the situation has become extremely dire.
The population in Rafah in the south has quadrupled since the start of the conflict, as people continue to flee in search of shelter, hoping to find safety and protection.
The UN official also noted that since the beginning of the war, phone and internet services have been repeatedly disrupted, leading to complete communication blackouts.
Sending a simple message via WhatsApp has become impossible, let alone attempting to make a phone call from one mobile device to another. This lack of communication further contributes to the feeling of insecurity.
Juliette Toma emphasized that UNRWA, along with the United Nations system and humanitarian organizations in general, has become unable to deliver aid due to the ongoing Israeli bombardment.
She called for a humanitarian ceasefire and the increased provision of humanitarian supplies, including medications for chronic illnesses, which are currently in severe shortage.
The UNRWA official in Gaza stressed the necessity of providing more commercial supplies to the private sector in Gaza, as nearly all residents now heavily rely on humanitarian assistance.
