Humanitarian collapse underway in Gaza

The Executive Director of the UN Office for Project Services (UNOPS), Jorge Moreira da Silva, has called for improved access for humanitarian aid and the opening of all crossings and corridors into the Gaza Strip.

In a statement at the end of his visit to Gaza, da Silva stressed that residents urgently need increased flows of basic supplies and fewer restrictions to support humanitarian response and early recovery efforts, including allowing in dual-use materials needed to restore essential services such as water, primary healthcare, and education.

He described the level of destruction in Gaza as “massive,” noting that homes, schools, clinics, and water and electricity networks have been destroyed or severely damaged.

Da Silva warned that Gaza’s children risk becoming a “lost generation” after being out of school for a third consecutive year, as their physical and psychological wounds deepen with time. He also revealed that Gaza is now buried under more than 60 million tons of rubble, a cleanup process expected to take over seven years.

Calling the suffering of Gaza’s population indescribable, he urged the international community to move beyond emergency aid and work toward a political and diplomatic solution to the conflict.