Gaza: UN staff now fainting from hunger and exhaustion over the past 48 hours have increased fears for people's survival in the devastated enclave, UN humanitarians said on Tuesday. Worrying alerts from the United Nations staff in the Gaza Strip highlight the dire situation.

According to United Nations, Juliette Touma, Director of Communications with the UN agency for Palestine refugees, UNRWA, reported that doctors, nurses, journalists, and humanitarian workers, including UNRWA staff, are fainting due to hunger and exhaustion while performing their duties. Ms. Touma, speaking from Amman, emphasized that the search for food has become as deadly as the bombardments.

The foundation's hubs, supported by the US and Israeli authorities, began operating in southern Gaza on 27 May, bypassing the UN and other established non-governmental organizations (NGOs). Ms. Touma described the so-called GHF distribution scheme as a "sadistic death-trap," where snipers open fire randomly on crowds. She criticized the scheme as a massive hunt of people in total impunity, highlighting that humanitarian assistance should not be the job of mercenaries.

Living conditions in Gaza have worsened, with prices for basic commodities soaring by around 4,000 percent. Many inhabitants, displaced multiple times and without income, find themselves completely deprived of essentials. Ms. Touma shared the testimony of a colleague who paid almost $200 for a bag of lentils and some flour after walking for hours.

On Monday, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) reported that a quarter of Gaza's population faces famine-like conditions, with nearly 100,000 women and children suffering from severe acute malnutrition. Everyday items like diapers are scarce and costly, forcing mothers to use plastic bags instead.

Ms. Touma stressed that UNRWA has stocks of hygiene supplies, including diapers, waiting outside Gaza, with 6,000 trucks loaded with food, medicines, and hygiene supplies in Egypt and Jordan awaiting entry. She reiterated the UN's calls for a ceasefire, the release of hostages, and a standard flow of humanitarian supplies into Gaza under UN management.

World Health Organization (WHO) spokesperson Tarik Jašarevic condemned recent attacks on a building housing WHO staff in Deir Al-Balah and the mistreatment of those sheltering there. The Israeli military's entry into the premises endangered staff and families, forcing them to evacuate amid active conflict.

The WHO spokesperson reported that staff and family members were detained and screened at gunpoint, with one WHO employee remaining in detention for unknown reasons. Mr. Jašarevic called for the release of the detained staff member, emphasizing that no one should be held without charges and due process.

The Israeli military operation in Deir Al-Balah also caused an explosion and fire inside WHO's main warehouse, part of a systematic pattern of destruction of health facilities. Gaza's health authorities report that since the war began in October 2023, approximately 1,500 health workers have been killed, with 94 percent of health facilities damaged and half of Gaza's hospitals non-functional.

The WHO spokesperson highlighted the denial of visas by Israeli authorities for emergency medical teams attempting to enter Gaza since the breakdown of the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.

UNRWA's Ms. Touma noted that the agency's Commissioner-General has been denied entry to Gaza since March 2024 and has not received a visa to enter the occupied West Bank. She also deplored the lack of access for international media to the enclave, stressing the need for first-hand reporting on the situation.

Critical lifelines in Gaza continue to collapse amid ongoing hostilities, with more than a dozen children and adults reported dead from hunger in the past 24 hours, according to UN aid coordination office, OCHA. Hospitals are admitting severely exhausted individuals, and many are collapsing in the streets due to a lack of food.

OCHA reported that civilians approaching UN supply trucks near border crossings come under fire, despite assurances that troops would not engage. The pattern is contrary to facilitating humanitarian operations, underscoring that no one should risk their life for food.