
This aerial view shows humanitarian aid trucks arriving from Egypt after having crossed through the Rafah border crossing arriving at a storage facility in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip on October 21, 2023. AFP
Their statement came as Israel said it would step up its strikes in Gaza to increase pressure on Hamas, and its senior officers warned troops to be ready to enter the besieged Palestinian territory.
Since shock Hamas attacks on Israel on October 7 left 1,400 dead, Israel has launched devastating air and ground bombardments of Gaza.
The Palestinian Ministry of Health says 4,385 Palestinians Killed, including 1,756 children and 976 women, in addition to 13,561 injuries.
The statement by the UN agencies came as the first aid trucks arrived in Gaza from Egypt Saturday.
"More than 1.6 million people in Gaza are in critical need of humanitarian aid," said the statement from agencies including the World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF, the children's agency.
"Children, pregnant women and the elderly remain the most vulnerable. Nearly half of Gaza's population are children," it added.
"Gaza was a desperate humanitarian situation before the most recent hostilities," it added.
"It is now catastrophic. The world must do more."
The other three agencies to sign the statement were the World Food Programme, the development agency UNDP and the UNFPA, the population fund.
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