By Burak Bir
LONDON (AA) - There is an urgent need to secure humanitarian pauses and corridors to save lives in Gaza, the head of the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) said Thursday.
"The Norwegian Refugee Council calls for humanitarian corridors and pauses to be immediately introduced, to allow the safe passage of humanitarian personnel and relief supplies into Gaza," Jan Egeland said in a statement.
He urged the international community to "urgently insist" on getting humanitarian access and civilian protection because of the "humanitarian catastrophe" in the Gaza Strip.
“At this moment, Gaza has almost run out of fuel, with medicine and food in dangerously low supply. This incredibly densely populated area is under full siege and relentless bombardment by Israel," he said.
Egeland said he wrote to foreign ministers asking them to immediately secure corridors to save lives and he stressed the need to enable life-saving assistance to the people of Gaza "as quickly as possible."
"Aid workers cannot do their jobs while bombs are falling everywhere. We are urgently calling on the US, EU, and Arab states to step up support in order to better protect civilian life and end the mass displacement of families," he noted.
Egeland added: "With every ongoing minute of violence, the lives of Israeli and Palestinian children and their families are being devastated."
The conflict began when Hamas initiated Operation Al-Aqsa Flood -- a multi-pronged surprise attack including a barrage of rocket launches and infiltrations into Israel via land, sea and air.
Hamas said the offensive was in retaliation for the storming of the Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied East Jerusalem and Israeli settlers’ growing violence against Palestinians.
In response, the Israeli military launched Operation Swords of Iron against Hamas targets within the Gaza Strip.
That response has extended into cutting water and electricity supplies to Gaza, further worsening the living conditions in an area that has reeled under a crippling siege since 2007.
More than 2,700 people have been killed since the outbreak of the conflict on Saturday, including over 1,400 Palestinians and 1,300 Israelis.