Gaza: UN official warns of 'assault on dignity' as blockade cripples humanitarian response

The coming days in Gaza are set to be critical, the UN warned on April 26, as humanitarian operations are severely curtailed amid an intensifying blockade, escalating violence, and soaring humanitarian needs.

Speaking to journalists in Gaza City, Jonathan Whittall, local Head of Office for the UN aid coordination wing, OCHA, painted a dire picture of life under what he called a "total and complete blockade" now approaching its third month.

"The coming days in Gaza are going to be critical. Today people are not surviving in Gaza, those that aren't being killed with bombs and bullets are slowly dying," he said.

Whittall stressed that humanitarian agencies are unable to meet the soaring needs of civilians due to the collapse of supply lines. Hospitals are overwhelmed, but medicines and equipment are running out. People are going hungry, but food warehouses are empty and bakeries are closing. Clean water is desperately needed, but water wells are inaccessible.

He noted that solid waste is piling up in the streets with no equipment to remove it, and that rescue efforts after airstrikes are impossible without fuel and machinery. Displaced families are forced to live in rubble without shelter materials, and fishermen are being shot at sea, while humanitarian organisations lack the resources to assist them. "Nowhere in Gaza today is safe", he said.

He added that children need to learn, but schools have been destroyed or are inaccessible, and that education supplies are not available. Prices of the remaining goods in Gaza continue to rise, but there is no cash available. There is no cooking gas or fuel, forcing families to burn trash to generate some energy.

A war 'without any limits'

"This is not only about humanitarian needs, but it's about dignity. There is an assault on people's dignity in Gaza today," he warned.

"We also know that humanitarian workers, first responders, you as journalists, should be protected, like all civilians, but we're being killed in a war that appears to be fought without any limits," he added.

Whittall emphasised that the situation in Gaza does not even resemble a war. "People in Gaza are telling me that they feel like it's the deliberate dismantling of Palestinian life in plain sight, for all to see, documented every day by you as journalists," he said.

He described the devastation witnessed daily — including children's bodies thrown by explosions, families burnt alive, and colleagues killed — as part of what he termed "everyday atrocities."

"As humanitarians we can see that aid is being weaponised through its denial," he warned. "There's no justification for the denial of humanitarian assistance. And humanitarian aid should never be weaponised."

Despite the catastrophic conditions, he stressed that humanitarian organisations are continuing to operate where possible, but "we have less and less and less supplies and less and less capacity to be able to meet the growing and growing needs that are intensifying across Gaza."

"Lives depend on the blockade being lifted, on aid being allowed to enter into Gaza, on the ceasefire being reinstated," he said, calling for real accountability rather than waiting for history to judge the international community's response.

Hunger and malnutrition surging

In a separate statement, OCHA warned of a “severe decline” in food availability across Gaza, as malnutrition rates escalate rapidly, particularly among children.

A UN partner organisation recently screened around 1,300 children in northern Gaza and identified over 80 cases of acute malnutrition, representing more than double the rate recorded in previous weeks.

"Nutrition partners report a critical shortage of supplies due to the obstruction of aid entry and challenges in transporting essential materials within Gaza," OCHA said. Access to key facilities, including UNICEF’s main warehouse in Rafah, remains heavily restricted.

Journalists who visited the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) main warehouses this week found them largely empty of food supplies, including flour.

Call for accountability and action

"Nothing can justify the collective punishment of the Palestinian people," UNRWA said in a separate statement, stressing that international law prohibits indiscriminate attacks, the obstruction of humanitarian assistance, and the destruction of vital civilian infrastructure.

The agency reiterated its call for a renewed ceasefire, the dignified release of all hostages, and the immediate, unhindered flow of humanitarian aid and commercial goods into Gaza.