The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has confirmed that Israel has repeatedly threatened the organization and its representatives, preventing them from reaching civilians in the Gaza Strip.

This comes in response to Israel’s decision not to renew the visa of Jonathan Whittall, head of OCHA’s office, following his statements condemning the starvation and killing of civilians in Gaza.

Ilona Götzén, OCHA's coordinator in occupied Jerusalem, stated that the visa denials and threats facing OCHA are not new. She added, "Recently, we have seen visa durations shortened for our staff, along with the rejection of entry requests to Gaza for several agencies."

She affirmed, “Attempts to silence us are not new,” adding, “but the threats to reduce access to the civilians we aim to serve are increasing.”