Israel needs to address urgently "catastrophic conditions" among Palestinian civilians in the Gaza Strip and stop "intensifying suffering" by limiting aid deliveries, the United States told the UN Security Council on Wednesday.
Referring to reports of squalid conditions in south and central Gaza, US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield said: "These catastrophic conditions were predicted months ago, and yet, have still not been addressed. That must change, and now."
"We call on Israel to take urgent steps to do so," she said in a blunt statement.
Addressing civilian evacuation in northern Gaza
Thomas-Greenfield also addressed a recent Israeli order for civilians in Gaza's north to evacuate again, saying they must be able to return to communities to rebuild: "There must be no demographic or territorial change in the Gaza Strip, including any actions that reduce the territory of Gaza," she said.
"Hundreds of thousands of people are again being pushed to move to the south, where living conditions are intolerable," said Philippe Lazzarini, the head of the UNRWA. "Yet again, Gazans are teetering on the edge of a man-made famine."