Aid Shortage Worsens, UN Presses Israel

News Desk 

United Nations: UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres reiterated his warning on Thursday against Israel’s planned full-scale assault on Rafah, as aid teams urgently appealed for safe passage throughout Gaza to replenish critically low stocks of lifesaving supplies.

In a related development, the UN’s top court began hearings on a new request from South Africa to impose further constraints on Israeli military actions in the besieged enclave.

Calling for the “immediate and unconditional release of all hostages” still held in Gaza, Guterres told Arab League leaders at a summit in Manama, Bahrain, that nothing justified the “collective punishment” of Palestinians.

“Any assault on Rafah is unacceptable; it would inflict another surge of pain and misery when we need a surge in life-saving aid,” he emphasized.

Alongside Philippe Lazzarini, head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), the UN chief also reaffirmed his strong support for the agency, describing it as the “backbone of our operations in Gaza and a lifeline for Palestine refugees across the region.” He stressed that UNRWA needs full support and funding, as the UN World Food Programme (WFP) issued a new warning about the impending famine in Gaza.

“Food and fuel stocks will run out in a matter of days,” the WFP warned in a social media post on X. “Since May 6, we have not been able to access and receive aid from the Kerem Shalom crossing. The situation is becoming unsustainable.”

The UN agency highlighted the severe risk that any further escalation of hostilities in Gaza could halt aid operations entirely, leading to a humanitarian catastrophe.

While the WFP has provided special nutritional foods to pregnant and breastfeeding women, as well as children under five across Gaza, it noted that as of May 11, distributions in Rafah had been suspended and were only continuing in a limited capacity in Khan Younis and Deir El Balah.

In northern Gaza, the WFP also warned that rates of acute malnutrition among children under two had doubled from 15 percent in January to 30 percent in March.

Humanitarian organizations caution that acute malnutrition is the deadliest form of malnutrition, making affected children three to twelve times more likely to die than well-nourished children.

The UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) reported late Wednesday that 600,000 people—one quarter of Gaza’s population—have been forcibly displaced from Rafah in the past week due to ongoing Israeli military activity and evacuation orders. Additionally, another 100,000 people have been displaced from the north to comply with Israeli military evacuation orders amidst heavy gun battles.

According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), “285 square kilometers, or approximately 78 percent of the Gaza Strip,” are now subject to Israeli military evacuation orders.

In its latest update, OCHA reported continued bombardment “from the air, land, and sea” across much of Gaza, leading to further civilian casualties, displacement, and destruction of houses and other civilian infrastructure, as per information received at the UN Headquarters in New York.

The UN office also confirmed reports of ground incursions and heavy fighting in Jabalia in northern Gaza, Deir al Balah in central Gaza, and eastern Rafah in the south.

“As of May 15, the Rafah crossing remains closed. While the Kerem Shalom crossing is operational, security and logistical conditions are hampering large-scale humanitarian aid deliveries,” OCHA noted.

Echoing these concerns, the World Food Programme (WFP) insisted that “multiple entry points” for aid are necessary “to reverse six months of near starvation conditions and avert a famine. Steady flows of food supplies are needed every day and every week. The threat of famine in Gaza has never loomed larger.”

In an effort to halt the military operation in and around Gaza’s southernmost city, South Africa filed a new request to the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which was heard on Thursday.

“Urgent provisional measures are required to ensure the survival of Palestinians in Gaza,” stated South Africa’s application, filed on May 10.

Gaza Crisis Escalates

The situation resulting from the Israeli assault on Rafah poses an extreme risk to humanitarian supplies, basic services, the survival of the Palestinian medical system, and the very survival of Palestinians in Gaza. This escalation is creating new facts that are causing irreparable harm to the rights of the Palestinian people in Gaza.

Rafah is “the last refuge” for Gazans and the “last viable center” for shelter and basic services, including medical care, according to the South African petition. The Israeli military’s seizure of Rafah crossing and the intermittent closure and access issues at the nearby Kerem Shalom crossing have blocked the main entry points for lifesaving humanitarian aid to Gaza.

“The remaining population and medical facilities are at extreme risk, given recent evidence of evacuation zones being treated as extermination zones, the mass destruction and mass graves at Gaza’s other hospitals, and the use by Israel of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to identify ‘kill lists,'” ICJ court documents reveal.

Previously, in late January, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) issued special orders, known as “provisional measures,” to prevent harm to Gazans, following South Africa’s claim that Israel was violating its obligations under the Genocide Convention. However, there was no explicit call for an immediate halt to Israel’s full-scale military operation in the Strip.

In his address to the summit, the UN Secretary-General reiterated his call for a humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza, the release of all hostages, and unimpeded access for aid delivery.

“The war in Gaza is an open wound that threatens to infect the entire region,” he said. “In its speed and scale, it is the deadliest conflict in my time as Secretary-General—for civilians, aid workers, journalists, and our own UN colleagues.”

He emphasized that nothing could justify the October 7 attacks by Hamas against Israel or the collective punishment of the Palestinian people. He also expressed concern over the tensions in the occupied West Bank, highlighting the rise in illegal Israeli settlements, settler violence, excessive use of force by the Israeli Defence Forces, demolitions, and evictions.

“The only permanent way to end the cycle of violence and instability is through a two-state solution, Israel and Palestine living side-by-side in peace and security, with Jerusalem as the capital of both states,” he said. “The demographic and historical character of Jerusalem must be preserved, and the status quo at the Holy Sites must be upheld, in line with the special role of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,” Guterres added.

Turning to Sudan, the UN chief urged the international community to intensify efforts toward peace and called for the warring parties to agree on a lasting ceasefire. Over a year of fighting between the Sudanese army and the rival paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has generated a humanitarian crisis, with thousands of civilians killed and 18 million facing looming famine.

He also called for the protection of “the fragile political processes in Libya and Yemen” and encouraged the Syrian people to come together in a spirit of reconciliation, honoring their diversity and respecting human rights for all.

Guterres also addressed other serious global crises, including the climate emergency, rising inequality, poverty and hunger, crushing debt, and the potential and perils of new technology such as artificial intelligence (AI).

“We need deep reforms to the global multilateral system—from the Security Council to the international financial architecture—so they are truly universal and representative of today’s realities,” he added. He pointed to the Summit of the Future at UN Headquarters this September as “a pivotal opportunity to create momentum for a more networked and inclusive multilateralism.”

The Secretary-General emphasized the enormous potential in the Arab region. He stressed that unity is essential for success in today’s world, warning that divisions allow outsiders to intervene, promote conflicts, stoke sectarian tensions, and inadvertently fuel terrorism.

“These are obstacles to peaceful development and the well-being of your peoples,” he told leaders. “Overcoming those obstacles requires breaking the vicious circle of division and foreign manipulation and moving forward together to build a more peaceful and prosperous future for the people of the Arab world and beyond.”