‘Last lifelines’ are collapsing in Gaza: UN chief

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday condemned the "accelerating breakdown of humanitarian conditions" in Gaza after more than 21 months of Israel's war with Hamas.

"The last lifelines keeping people alive are collapsing," his spokesman Stephane Dujarric said in a statement. The United Nations chief "deplores the growing reports of children and adults suffering from malnutrition."

More than two dozen Western countries Monday also called for an immediate end to the war, saying that suffering had "reached new depths" as Israel's military expanded its operations to Gaza's central city of Deir el-Balah.

"The Secretary-General notes that the intensification of hostilities in recent days comes as the humanitarian system is being impeded, undermined and endangered," Dujarric said.

"A new evacuation order in parts of Deir el-Balah -- home to tens of thousands -- pushes people into more desperate conditions and further displacement and restricts the United Nations' ability to deliver life-saving aid."

Agence France-Presse