Palestinians in Gaza see themselves as “zombies” left to fend for themselves, the UN’s humanitarian coordinator for the Palestinian Territories, Muhannad Hadi, said Tuesday from Brussels.
“You must look at us like two million zombies […] “left to their own devices.” This is how the people of Gaza see themselves,” the UN official said, quoting a Palestinian he met during one of his many trips to the Gaza Strip.
“Everything you take for granted, or work for every day, does not exist for the majority of the population in Gaza,” he said. “Many people have nothing to eat” or no access to clean water, electricity, Hadi said.
“No one should suffer from war, from bad politics. We, as humanitarians, must manage the consequences of bad political choices,” stressed the man who is also the United Nations Deputy Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process.
“It is clear that politicians around the world are not doing the job they are supposed to do, and that is why we do not have a ceasefire, and that is why we do not have a solution to the crisis in Gaza,” he also lamented.
Mr Hadi was in Brussels for a series of meetings with European officials, as EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell tours the region, visiting Egypt and Lebanon.
“Mr. Borrell’s visit will bring visibility, because my concern is that Gaza goes under the international radar, no longer makes headlines,” the humanitarian stressed.
The war in Gaza was triggered by an October 7 attack by the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas on Israeli soil from Gaza.
In response, Israel vowed to destroy Hamas and launched a campaign of aerial bombardments followed by a ground offensive that devastated the Palestinian territory and left more than 40,000 dead.