‘Hell on Earth’: Battling hunger, Gaza doctors faint; UN warns of catastrophe amid Israeli attacks

The UN on Tuesday said that its staff members, including doctors and aid workers in Gaza, are fainting on duty due to a lack of food supply, which is leading to hunger and extreme exhaustion among workers.

The UN Palestinian Refugee Agency Chief Philippe Lazzarini said, “Caretakers, including UNRWA colleagues in Gaza, are also in need of care now, doctors, nurses, journalists, humanitarians, among them, UNRWA staff are hungry. Many are now fainting due to hunger and exhaustion while performing their duties.”

During a press briefing in Geneva, Lazzarini described the situation in Gaza as “hell on earth”, adding that nowhere is safe as Israel continues to bomb areas near food distribution centres.

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The UNRWA has estimated that at least 1,000 Palestinians have been killed seeking aid in Gaza since the end of May. It added that food prices have increased by 40 times in Gaza due to acute shortage of supplies.

WHO says its facilities

The World Health Organisation said Monday its facilities in Gaza had come under Israeli attack, echoing calls from Western countries for an immediate ceasefire as Israel expanded military operations to the central city of Deir el-Balah.

WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the Israeli military had entered the UN agency’s staff residence, forced women and children to evacuate on foot, and handcuffed, stripped and interrogated male staff at gunpoint.

After more than 21 months of fighting that have triggered catastrophic humanitarian conditions for Gaza’s more than two million people, Israeli allies Britain, France, Australia, Canada and 21 other countries, plus the EU, said in a joint statement that the war “must end now”.

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“The suffering of civilians in Gaza has reached new depths,” the signatories added, urging a negotiated ceasefire, the release of hostages held by Palestinian militants and the free flow of much-needed aid.

Tedros, who also condemned an attack on the WHO’s main warehouse in Deir el-Balah, echoed that call: “A ceasefire is not just necessary, it is overdue,” he said on X.

With inputs from agencies