Gaza: ‘The siege is the silent killer’

United Nations agencies and officials on Saturday reiterated calls for a humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza after another night of heavy bombing left hospitals and healthcare facilities without electricity and civilians across the enclave virtually “cut off from the outside world”. 

Unexpected blistering temperatures across Gaza have added to the daily misery faced by the enclave’s people and sparked new fears of disease outbreaks amid a lack of sufficient clean water and waste disposal, UN humanitarians said on Thursday.

Stepping up global efforts to combat land degradation is the only way to safeguard food and water security, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and ward against future threats to health and the environment, the UN General Assembly President told ambassadors meeting in New York on Monday.