Gaza reduced to rubble, Palestinians struggling to survive, says UN

By Gozde Bayar

The UN said Saturday that the Gaza Strip, under Israeli attacks for eight months, has been reduced to rubble and that Palestinian families are trying to survive in inhumane conditions.

“Gaza has been reduced to rubble, & Palestinian families have to survive in inhumane conditions with scarce water, food & supplies,” the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, or UNRWA, said on X.

The UN agency said it continues to provide flour to people even in the most dire and unimaginable circumstances but the siege on Gaza needs to end immediately.

Israel has pounded the Gaza Strip in retaliation for an Oct. 7 attack by Hamas which killed about 1,200 people.

Nearly 36,400 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since Israel began its onslaught nearly eight months ago. The majority of those killed have been women and children, with more than 82,400 others injured, according to local health authorities.

Vast swathes of Gaza lay in ruins amid Israel's crippling blockade of food, clean water, and medicine.​​​​​​​

Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, which in its latest ruling has ordered Tel Aviv to immediately halt its operation in Rafah where more than 1 million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war.