UN Humanitarian Chief Tom Fletcher revealed harrowing details about the worsening situation in Gaza during a press briefing on March 12.
“One of the first shocking things I saw driving in is the dogs going through the rubble,” he said, sharing his firsthand observations from a recent visit to the enclave.
“I said to my colleague who was with me, why are the dogs so fat? And he said, well, because the dogs are looking for corpses. And you notice that the people are thin, and then you see that for miles and miles and miles.”
The humanitarian situation in Gaza sharply deteriorated last week when Israel blocked all aid deliveries, citing a standoff over a truce agreement with Hamas seven weeks ago.
The closure has driven food and fuel prices up to extreme levels, forcing many to ration their meals.
So far, no aid has been allowed into Gaza for 12 consecutive days, according to the UN. Before the blockade, UN authorities had delivered over 20,000 trucks, averaging 600 to 700 trucks per day, supplying aid to 2 million people in dire need of assistance.
“That made a massive, massive difference, and that’s obviously a difference that’ we’re not making and haven’t been making for the last two weeks since the borders closed,” Fletcher said.
The ceasefire, which began on January 19, saw the exchange of 33 Israeli hostages and five Thai nationals for approximately 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and detainees.
However, with the initial 42-day phase expired, negotiations have stalled as Israel refuses to start the second phase of the ceasefire.
In February, US President Donald Trump proposed a controversial plan to transform the Gaza Strip into the “Riviera of the Middle East.”
The initiative calls for US control over Gaza and the relocation of its approximately two million Palestinian residents to neighboring countries.
Trump has since gone back on that proposal and now says he doesn’t want to expel the Palestinians from Gaza.
Fletcher said he was in Gaza when President Trump unveiled the so-called “Riviera in Gaza” plan, and witnessed Palestinians’ staunch rejection of any displacement.
“Everyone I spoke to told me they planned to stay,” Fletcher said. “They all said, 'Give us the tents so we can rebuild our lives and our communities.”
The UN estimates that 50 million tonnes of rubble blanket Gaza, and even with 100 trucks working full-time, clearing the debris would take over 15 years, according to estimates.
Israel has killed more than 48,500 Palestinians, mostly women and children, in the war that human rights advocates say constitutes a genocide.
Tel Aviv is now facing a genocide case at the ICJ ,and the ICC issued arrest warrants in November 2024 for Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu and ex-Defense Minister Yoav Gallant over war crimes in Gaza.
