After 13 months of relentless violence, Palestinians in Gaza have lost everything. Visiting Gaza this week, Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) Secretary General Jan Egeland witnessed the almost unparalleled suffering of families there.
Humanity is being erased in Gaza
“The complete destruction I have witnessed this week in Gaza City and other urban areas of northern and central Gaza is worse than anything I could imagine as a long-time aid worker,” said Egeland. “What I saw and heard in the north of Gaza was a population pushed beyond breaking point. Families torn apart, men and boys detained and separated from their loved ones, and families unable to even bury their dead. Some have gone days without food, drinking water is nowhere to be found. It is scene after scene of absolute despair.”
“This is in no way a lawful response, a targeted operation of ‘self-defence’ to dismantle armed groups, or warfare consistent with humanitarian law. What Israel is doing here, with Western-supplied arms, is rendering a densely populated area uninhabitable for almost two million civilians.
“The families, widows and children I have spoken to are enduring suffering almost unparalleled anywhere in recent history. There is no possible justification for continued war and destruction. To avert tens of thousands of additional innocent lives lost, we need an immediate cease-fire, release of the hostages and those arbitrarily detained and the start of a real peace process.”
Despite the scale of the crisis, Israeli policies have resulted in pitiful levels of aid reaching those in need. Ninety-one per cent of Gaza's population faces acute food insecurity, with 16 per cent at catastrophic levels, likely facing starvation.
Civilians in Gaza have no safe refuge, anywhere. Palestinian families are still forced to move from one insecure area to another. Sixty-two active Israeli relocation orders aim to restrict Palestinians to just 20 per cent of Gaza, with no assurance of safety or return. This constitutes forcible transfer - a serious breach of international law.
“The situation in Gaza today is deadly for all Palestinians. It is deadly for those who are aid workers assisting people in need, and for those working as journalists trying to document the horrors on the ground. Israel has repeatedly struck UN premises and imposed barrier after barrier – both physical and bureaucratic – to aid work. This week I have witnessed the catastrophic impact of strangled aid flows. There has not been a single week since the start of this war when sufficient aid was delivered in Gaza,” said Egeland.
Nearly two million people are displaced across Gaza, struggling to secure basic food and medicine. With winter approaching, many lack even a tent or a tarpaulin for shelter, and most aid remains blocked from leaving crossing points due to insecurity, active hostilities and widespread destruction.
In northern Gaza, conditions are especially desperate under an intensive Israeli siege. An estimated 100,000 people in North Gaza governorate are completely cut off from humanitarian aid, with the UN condemning ‘unlawful interference with humanitarian assistance’.
Israeli forces have proposed establishing so-called 'humanitarian bubbles', raising fears among humanitarians that these would function as militarised containment zones formed through forced displacement, emptying large areas of Palestinians. In these zones, humanitarian aid and freedom of movement would likely be politically and militarily controlled, violating humanitarian principles and disregarding even basic civilian protection.
“This should be a wake-up call to leaders everywhere,” said Egeland.
“When I visited Gaza in February, I was deeply shaken by what I witnessed and the stories I heard. The situation has drastically worsened since then. Those in power on all sides act with impunity, while millions across Gaza and the region pay a terrible price. Humanitarians can speak out on what we are seeing, but only those in power can end this nightmare.”
Notes to editors:
- B-roll from Jan Egeland’s time in Gaza is available here.
- Photos from the visit are available for free use here.
- Latest estimate for numbers of internally displaced people in Gaza is 1.9 million people (UNRWA).
- Around 100,000 people remain in northern Gaza (OCHA).
- Ninety-one per cent of people in Gaza are facing acute food insecurity (IPC phase 3+), including 16 per cent at catastrophic levels (IPC phase 5) (IPC).
- Israel has placed 87 per cent of Gaza as part of 66 forcible relocation orders covering 150 neighbourhoods (OCHA). Four orders have been revoked, and 80 per cent of Gaza remains under such orders (OCHA).
- An average of 36 trucks per day crossed into Gaza between 1-27 October, marking the lowest rate for a year (OCHA).
- Gaza is the deadliest place for aid workers to date in 2024 (AWSD).
- Gaza is the deadliest place for journalists to date in 2024 (CPJ).
- With aid restricted, it would take over two years to deliver enough shelter kits (NRC-led Shelter Cluster).
- US warning Israel on conditions in Gaza and need to surge aid into Gaza (Financial Times).
- Relocation orders with no assurances of safety and return qualify as forcible transfers (NRC).
For more information or to arrange an interview, please contact:
- NRC global media hotline: media@nrc.no, +47 905 62 329
- Ed Prior, Media Adviser to Secretary General: ed.prior@nrc.no, +47 902 94 379
“The complete destruction I have witnessed this week in Gaza City and other urban areas of northern and central Gaza is worse than anything I could imagine as a long-time aid worker,” said Egeland. “What I saw and heard in the north of Gaza was a population pushed beyond breaking point. Families torn apart, men and boys detained and separated from their loved ones, and families unable to even bury their dead. Some have gone days without food, drinking water is nowhere to be found. It is scene after scene of absolute despair.”
“This is in no way a lawful response, a targeted operation of ‘self-defence’ to dismantle armed groups, or warfare consistent with humanitarian law. What Israel is doing here, with Western-supplied arms, is rendering a densely populated area uninhabitable for almost two million civilians.
“The families, widows and children I have spoken to are enduring suffering almost unparalleled anywhere in recent history. There is no possible justification for continued war and destruction. To avert tens of thousands of additional innocent lives lost, we need an immediate cease-fire, release of the hostages and those arbitrarily detained and the start of a real peace process.”
Despite the scale of the crisis, Israeli policies have resulted in pitiful levels of aid reaching those in need. Ninety-one per cent of Gaza's population faces acute food insecurity, with 16 per cent at catastrophic levels, likely facing starvation.
Civilians in Gaza have no safe refuge, anywhere. Palestinian families are still forced to move from one insecure area to another. Sixty-two active Israeli relocation orders aim to restrict Palestinians to just 20 per cent of Gaza, with no assurance of safety or return. This constitutes forcible transfer - a serious breach of international law.
“The situation in Gaza today is deadly for all Palestinians. It is deadly for those who are aid workers assisting people in need, and for those working as journalists trying to document the horrors on the ground. Israel has repeatedly struck UN premises and imposed barrier after barrier – both physical and bureaucratic – to aid work. This week I have witnessed the catastrophic impact of strangled aid flows. There has not been a single week since the start of this war when sufficient aid was delivered in Gaza,” said Egeland.
Nearly two million people are displaced across Gaza, struggling to secure basic food and medicine. With winter approaching, many lack even a tent or a tarpaulin for shelter, and most aid remains blocked from leaving crossing points due to insecurity, active hostilities and widespread destruction.
In northern Gaza, conditions are especially desperate under an intensive Israeli siege. An estimated 100,000 people in North Gaza governorate are completely cut off from humanitarian aid, with the UN condemning ‘unlawful interference with humanitarian assistance’.
Israeli forces have proposed establishing so-called 'humanitarian bubbles', raising fears among humanitarians that these would function as militarised containment zones formed through forced displacement, emptying large areas of Palestinians. In these zones, humanitarian aid and freedom of movement would likely be politically and militarily controlled, violating humanitarian principles and disregarding even basic civilian protection.
“This should be a wake-up call to leaders everywhere,” said Egeland.
“When I visited Gaza in February, I was deeply shaken by what I witnessed and the stories I heard. The situation has drastically worsened since then. Those in power on all sides act with impunity, while millions across Gaza and the region pay a terrible price. Humanitarians can speak out on what we are seeing, but only those in power can end this nightmare.”
Notes to editors:
- B-roll from Jan Egeland’s time in Gaza is available here.
- Photos from the visit are available for free use here.
- Latest estimate for numbers of internally displaced people in Gaza is 1.9 million people (UNRWA).
- Around 100,000 people remain in northern Gaza (OCHA).
- Ninety-one per cent of people in Gaza are facing acute food insecurity (IPC phase 3+), including 16 per cent at catastrophic levels (IPC phase 5) (IPC).
- Israel has placed 87 per cent of Gaza as part of 66 forcible relocation orders covering 150 neighbourhoods (OCHA). Four orders have been revoked, and 80 per cent of Gaza remains under such orders (OCHA).
- An average of 36 trucks per day crossed into Gaza between 1-27 October, marking the lowest rate for a year (OCHA).
- Gaza is the deadliest place for aid workers to date in 2024 (AWSD).
- Gaza is the deadliest place for journalists to date in 2024 (CPJ).
- With aid restricted, it would take over two years to deliver enough shelter kits (NRC-led Shelter Cluster).
- US warning Israel on conditions in Gaza and need to surge aid into Gaza (Financial Times).
- Relocation orders with no assurances of safety and return qualify as forcible transfers (NRC).
For more information or to arrange an interview, please contact:
- NRC global media hotline: media@nrc.no, +47 905 62 329
- Ed Prior, Media Adviser to Secretary General: ed.prior@nrc.no, +47 902 94 379