Jonathan Whittall, head of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in the occupied Palestinian territory, stated that the conditions civilians are enduring in the Gaza Strip are “designed to lead to death.”

In press remarks on the situation in Gaza, Whittall said, “What we are witnessing is a massacre. Hunger is being used as if it were a weapon. This is forced displacement. It is a death sentence for people who are simply trying to survive.” He added that these factors amount to “an operation to erase Palestinian life from Gaza.”

The Israeli war has so far resulted in the martyrdom of 55,998 people—most of them children and women—and 131,559 others injured.