UN agency declares Gaza ‘One of the most complex and challenging’ situations

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees says the humanitarian operation in Gaza has fast become one of the most complex and challenging in the world. The agency’s commissioner-general, Philippe Lazzarini, says the crisis in Gaza is a man-made disaster compounded by dehumanising language and the use of food, water, and fuel as instruments of war. Separately, Al Jazeera reports that according to the latest figures from the Health Ministry, Israeli bombardment on Gaza has killed at least 158 people in the past 24 hours. The Palestinian Prisoners Society says about 3,290 are under administrative detention without trial or evidence, with the possibility of being held indefinitely, and 559 have been sentenced to life in prison.