Gaza ‘Unfit for Human Habitation’ After Nine-Week War: UN

The head of the UN's Palestinian refugee agency declared Gaza uninhabitable after nine weeks of Israeli war, citing rampant hunger, overcrowded UN shelters, and the urgent need to end siege on the enclave.

Philippe Lazzarini, the commissioner-general for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), conveyed the dire situation during a press conference in Geneva, emphasizing how Israel's ground operation forcibly displaced over a million refugees to Rafah, turning it into a focal point for the crisis.

"Rafah is the epicenter of the displacement," Lazzarini lamented. “One [UN] warehouse that became a shelter is home to 30,000 people. The lucky ones have made it inside our premises. The others have absolutely nowhere to go. They live in the open, in the cold, in the mud, and under the rain. Everywhere you look is congested with makeshift shelters. Everywhere you go people are desperate, hungry, and are terrified.”