UN officials warn of unspeakable conditions in Gaza, with children bearing the brunt.

Tom Fletcher, the UN Emergency Relief Coordinator, told an emergency session of the UN Security Council on Wednesday that there is no longer enough "vocabulary" to describe the situation on the ground.

The Security Council held an emergency session at the request of the United Kingdom, Slovenia, Greece and Denmark, to discuss the humanitarian deterioration in the Palestinian territories.

"Food is running out. Those seeking it are at risk of being shot. People are dying trying to feed their families. Field hospitals are receiving bodies, and medical workers are hearing firsthand accounts from the wounded—day after day," Fletcher said.

He noted that child hunger rates reached their highest levels last June, with more than 5,800 girls and boys diagnosed with severe malnutrition.

"Last week, in the midst of this hunger crisis, children and women were killed in an airstrike while waiting for nutritional supplements to keep them alive," he added.

Fletcher reported that Gaza's health system is "devastated," with only 17 of 36 hospitals and 63 of 170 primary health care centers partially functioning. The shortage means that up to five babies share a single incubator. He also noted that 80% of water and sanitation facilities are located within military zones or under evacuation orders, making them inaccessible to residents.

Fletcher noted that between May 19 and July 14, only 1,633 aid trucks entered Gaza, a number significantly lower than the average of 630 trucks entering the Strip daily during the truce that lasted from January 19 to March 2.

Fletcher described the scale of the challenges involved in transporting something as simple as a bag of flour into Gaza, citing multiple layers of Israeli approvals, scanning, reloading, multiple deliveries, damaged roads, delays at holding points, insecurity, and desperate civilians snatching supplies from trucks.

Regarding fuel, he confirmed that Israel allowed only two trucks to enter Gaza daily, for the first time in 130 days. This represents a tiny fraction of the daily requirement, while the ban on gasoline, which powers ambulances, remains in place.

A classroom full of children is lost every day.

UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell told the ambassadors that an average of 28 children are killed in Gaza every day—"the equivalent of an entire school classroom." Over the past 21 months, more than 17,000 children have been killed and 33,000 injured across Gaza. She said many of these children were injured "while queuing for life-saving humanitarian aid—further proof that there is no safe place for civilians anywhere in Gaza." She added: "Children are not political actors. They do not start conflicts, and they are powerless to stop them. But they are suffering deeply, and they are wondering why the world has failed them."

Russell added that 70% of essential medicines have run out, half of medical equipment has been damaged, pregnant women are giving birth without care, and women and girls are managing their menstrual cycles without basic supplies. Meanwhile, water production capacity has declined sharply, leaving the entire sector (95%) facing water insecurity.

"With access to clean water becoming increasingly difficult, children have no choice but to drink contaminated water," Russell said, noting that this increases the risk of disease outbreaks.

The two officials urged the Council to provide immediate, safe, sustainable, and demilitarized humanitarian access through all available crossings, ensure a regular flow of fuel, protect civilians at distribution points, and restore the UN-led aid pipeline that operated briefly during previous pauses in the fighting.

They also reiterated the UN call for the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages held in Gaza, and called on all parties – including Hamas and other armed groups – to respect international humanitarian law.

Fletcher asked the Security Council to assess whether Israel, as the occupying power, is fulfilling its obligations to ensure that food and medical supplies reach civilians.

"We hold all parties to the standards of international law in this conflict. We do not have to choose—indeed, we must not choose—between demanding an end to the starvation of civilians in Gaza and demanding the unconditional release of all hostages," he said.

In turn, the Deputy Permanent Observer of the State of Palestine to the United Nations, Majed Bamieh, said that Israel kills approximately 100 Palestinians daily in Gaza, using starvation and deprivation as a weapon of war against two million people, including one million children who are threatened with hunger, displacement, and death. He estimated the number of children killed so far at more than fifty thousand, adding: "Children are being killed while searching for food or water."

He asked, "Has the world become so accustomed to the killing of Palestinians that it no longer sees them as anything more than numbers? A Palestinian in Gaza is killed whether he searches for food or not, whether he goes to the hospital or not. All roads in Gaza lead to death. We must open a path to rescue."