Gaza people's suffering 'almost unparalleled', NRC chief says
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During his visit to Gaza this week, Jan Egeland indicated that "Israel’s" actions, carried out with Western-supplied weaponry, have "rendered the densely populated area uninhabitable."
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Secretary General of the Norwegian Refugee Council, NRC, Jan Egeland, listens to a question during an interview with The Associated Press in Kabul, Afghanistan, Sunday, January 8, 2023 (AP)
The Secretary General of the Norwegian Refugee Council has warned that Gaza's population has been driven "beyond breaking point," with families, widows, and children facing "almost unparalleled suffering," The Guardian reported.
During his visit to Gaza this week, NRC chief Jan Egeland described "scene after scene of absolute despair," where families are torn apart, unable to bury their dead.
He indicated that "Israel’s" actions, carried out with Western-supplied weaponry, have "rendered the densely populated area uninhabitable."
“This is in no way a lawful response, a targeted operation of ‘self-defence’ to dismantle armed groups, or warfare consistent with humanitarian law,” Egeland stressed.
“The families, widows, and children I have spoken to are enduring suffering almost unparalleled to anywhere in recent history,” he added, asserting that “there is no possible justification for continued war and destruction.”
Forcible transfer in works
According to the latest figures from the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA), nearly two million people in Gaza are now internally displaced and struggling with severe shortages of food, water, and medicine.
Families are frequently forced to relocate, and 80% of Gaza is now designated for evacuation and relocation by Israeli forces, confining Palestinians to just 20% of the territory.
The Guardian highlighted that this week, an Israeli brigadier general stated that displaced individuals would not be allowed to return home—a move that humanitarian law experts argue constitutes forcible transfer, a war crime.
In northern Gaza, a renewed Israeli operation and tightened siege have left an estimated 100,000 people cut off from humanitarian aid, creating severe hardship, the report noteed.
The United Nations has condemned the “unlawful interference with humanitarian assistance and orders that are leading to forced displacement.”
Most aid remains stalled at crossing points, impeded by insecurity, active hostilities, and infrastructure damage. In October, only an average of 36 aid trucks entered Gaza daily, the lowest rate in a year.
No sufficient aid delivered since war started
Egeland, a former foreign minister and Norwegian diplomat, affirmed that he witnessed "the catastrophic impact of strangled aid flows," noting that many people have gone days without food and are deprived of clean drinking water.
“There has not been a single week since the start of this war when sufficient aid was delivered in Gaza,” he emphasized.
Adding to the crisis, "Israel’s" Knesset recently passed legislation banning UNRWA operations in occupied Palestinian territories, declaring the agency a "terrorist organization" and severing ties between the agency and the Israeli occupation government, prompting widespread regional and international condemnation.
Egeland described the conditions in Gaza as "deadly" for all Palestinians, aid workers, and journalists alike. To avert further loss of life, he urged an immediate ceasefire, the release of Israeli captives held by the Resistance, and the initiation of a peace process
“Humanitarians can speak out on what we are seeing, but only those in power can end this nightmare,” he said.
Read more: UNRWA warns of 'catastrophic consequences', urges global intervention
