WASHINGTON - More than 2 million people are trapped inside the Gaza Strip, a UN spokesman said on Thursday.
"More than 2 million people remain trapped inside Gaza. Ongoing hostilities and dwindling aid supplies have driven up stress levels - especially among children - with mental health needs growing by the day," Stéphane Dujarric told reporters, Anadolu Ajansi reported.
Citing the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), Dujarric said humanitarian supplies are nearing depletion since Israel imposed a full closure on the entry of cargo, including humanitarian aid, into the enclave on March 2.
The water sector has been "heavily" affected by hostilities, with almost 90 per cent of the water assets impacted, he added.
"We reiterate that Israel, as the occupying power, has clear obligations under international law, which include ensuring food, medical supplies and public health services are available, and facilitating humanitarian relief when these are not otherwise supplied," Dujarric stressed.
Turning to the West Bank, Dujarric said thousands of residents have been displaced and are unable to return home as Israeli operations continue in the north.
More than 51,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza in a brutal Israeli onslaught since October 2023, most of them women and children. - BERNAMA-ANADOLU