UN agencies call for urgent renewal of ceasefire in Gaza as death toll mounts

8/4/2025 6:29

The heads of six U.N. agencies called on Monday for an urgent renewal of the ceasefire in Gaza, warning of aid shortages and hunger since Israel resumed its all-out assault with the deadliest week for Gaza's children of the past year.



No new humanitarian supplies have entered the Palestinian enclave since Israel blocked the entry of aid trucks on March 2, as talks stalled on the next stage of a now broken truce. Israel resumed its assault on March 18.



"More than 2.1 million people are trapped, bombed and starved again, while, at crossing points, food, medicine, fuel and shelter supplies are piling up," said a statement co-signed by the heads of six U.N. agencies including the U.N.'s aid coordination agency (OCHA) and the World Food Programme.



At least 1,000 children were killed or injured during the first week after fighting resumed, the statement added, describing that week's death toll as the highest for children of the past year.