Gaza's 'worst fears materialized' as Israel resumes airstrikes: UN relief chief

The UN relief chief on Tuesday reported that the Gaza Strip's "worst fears materialized" last night as Israel unexpectedly renewed deadly airstrikes on the Palestinian enclave.

"Overnight, worst fears materialized. Airstrikes resumed across the entire Gaza Strip with unconfirmed reports of hundreds of people killed. New evacuation orders issued by Israeli forces. Once again, the people of Gaza are living in abject fear. Modest gains made during the ceasefire are being destroyed," Tom Fletcher told the Security Council.

Fletcher condemned Israel's decision to cut off humanitarian aid. "Since 2 March, Israeli authorities have cut off the entry of all lifesaving supplies -- food, medicines, fuel, cooking gas -- for 2.1 million people.

"Our repeated requests to collect aid sitting at Kerem Shalom crossing have also been systematically rejected," he said.

He warned that the total blockade of humanitarian aid and essential goods "will have a disastrous impact on the people in Gaza who remain dependent on a steady flow of assistance."

Emphasizing what was possible with the 42-day ceasefire, Fletcher said that "aid delivery was enabled, and we could scale up quickly and effectively."

He noted the release of 30 hostages and 583 Palestinian detainees, as well as the entry of over 4,000 aid trucks per week.

Fletcher raised alarms about the worsening situation in the occupied West Bank, where he said at least 95 Palestinians, including 17 children, have been killed since the beginning of 2025.

"Some 40,000 Palestinians have been displaced in these operations, including from refugee camps and cities," he said, describing widespread destruction.

He outlined three urgent steps that must be taken immediately: "First and foremost, humanitarian aid and commercial essentials must be allowed to enter Gaza. Blocking food, water, and medicine for people who need them is unconscionable.

"Second, we must renew the ceasefire," he said, and noted the third step is funding the humanitarian response.

"We have received only 4% of what is needed -- we don't even have enough to get through this quarter," Fletcher warned.

He quoted a Palestinian doctor's final message before being killed in the strip, which read: "Whoever stays until the end will tell the story. We did what we could. Remember us." Fletcher then turned to the Security Council and asked. "Will we be able to say that we did what we could?"

The Israeli army pounded the Gaza Strip early Tuesday, killing at least 404 people and injuring hundreds, breaking a ceasefire agreement with the Palestinian resistance group, Hamas, that took effect Jan. 19, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.

Images showed that the majority of victims were civilians, including women and children, whose homes were bombed during the night.

More than 48,500 Palestinians have been killed, mostly women and children, and over 112,000 injured in a brutal Israeli military onslaught in Gaza since October 2023.

Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.