The humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip is worsening day by day, Türkiye's permanent representative to the U.N. said Tuesday as he warned of a rising risk of famine amid Israeli attacks.
Sedat Önal told a meeting of the U.N. Security Council on the maintenance of international peace and security that "2.2 million people in Gaza live in a state of crisis under relentless bombardment, without sufficient humanitarian aid."
"On top of that, some donors have suspended funding to UNRWA, the backbone of the humanitarian response in Gaza. The risk of famine in Gaza is alarming," he said.
The main United Nations agency providing aid to Palestinians in Gaza is facing growing administrative hurdles from Israel, with a Turkish shipment amounting to a month's supply of food blocked at an Israeli port, the agency's chief said earlier this week.
Several Western countries, including the two largest donors, the United States and Germany, temporarily suspended payments to the UNRWA after Israel has accused a dozen of its employees of being involved in the attack mounted by the Palestinian resistance group Hamas on Oct. 7. The UNRWA has dismissed staff accused of involvement in the attack and launched an investigation.
Türkiye too said the suspension of funding primarily harmed Palestinian civilians and urged the nations to reconsider their move.
In the fifth month of the conflict, Önal said the council is still unable to stop the manmade catastrophe.
"As we speak, a new episode of this tragedy is underway in Rafah in southern Gaza, in spite of the warnings of the international community. The council needs to take heed of the global outcry on Gaza," he added, stressing the expectation from the council is clear to ensure an immediate cease-fire, unhindered humanitarian assistance and to prevent forced displacement of people.
"Türkiye will continue to be actively engaged in all international efforts toward achieving peace, combating climate change and alleviating global food insecurity," Önal said.
Israel has pounded the Gaza Strip since an Oct. 7 attack by the Palestinian group Hamas, killing at least 28,473 people and injuring 68,146 others, while nearly 1,200 Israelis are believed to have been killed in the Hamas attack.
The Israeli war on Gaza has pushed 85% of the territory's population into internal displacement amid acute shortages of food, clean water and medicine, while 60% of the enclave's infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the U.N.
Türkiye is among the countries delivering relief to besieged Gaza. With the efforts of Ankara and Turkish nonprofit groups, tons of humanitarian aid was delivered to the Palestinian enclave and more is on the way. Türkiye also evacuated injured Palestinians and cancer patients from Gaza for treatment.
Syrian crisis
Turning to the situation in Syria, Önal said that Türkiye continues to pay attention to the country.
"The lives of millions of people still depend on international humanitarian aid," he said.
Referring to "unfounded allegations" of the U.N. representative of Syria, Önal reminded the council that Türkiye has been providing care and protection to approximately 9 million Syrians on both sides of the border since the start of the civil war.
"On transboundary waters, in line with its longstanding and consistent policy, Türkiye approaches the issue from a humanitarian perspective and is sensitive to the needs of the downstream countries.
"Not only upstream countries, but also downstream countries have a responsibility to utilize water in a sustainable and efficient manner in our water-scarce region," he said.
Syria has been mired in a vicious civil war since 2011, when the Bashar Assad regime cracked down on pro-democracy protests.
Hundreds of thousands of people have been killed and more than 10 million others displaced, according to U.N. estimates.
Türkiye is the largest host country for Syrian refugees and provides international protection to nearly 4 million people who fled the neighboring country, according to official figures.