“A lot more people will die soon” because of of the complete siege imposed on the Gaza Strip by Israelthe head of the UN agency for Palestine refugees (UNRWA) warned today, making a dramatic appeal for “substantial and sustained” humanitarian aid.

At the same time, the UN expressed today its concern over the fact that “war crimes” have been committed and are still being committed, in the conflict between Israel and the Islamist organization Hamas.

“We are concerned about the fact that war crimes are being committed. We are concerned about the collective punishment meted out to the people of Gaza in response to the horrific attacks by Hamas, which also constitute war crimes,” said Ravina Samdasani, a spokeswoman for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights at a regular press briefing in Geneva.

At the same time, an official of the World Health Organization stated that there are estimates of around 1,000 unidentified bodies still under the rubble in Gazawhich have not been included in the official accounts of the victims.

Health authorities in Gaza have announced that more than 7,000 Palestinians, including 2,900 children, have been killed by Israeli bombardment since the October 7 Hamas attack.

UN: People are dying of shortages – Hamas death toll reliable

“As we speak, people are dying in Gaza and many more will die soon due to the effects of the siege that has been imposed” on the small enclave since October 7, UNRWA’s Filipe Lazzarini told a news conference in Jerusalem.

“Essential services are collapsing, supplies of medicine, food and water are running out, sewage is beginning to overflow the streets of Gaza,” he said.

Combos with humanitarian aid who have entered Palestinian territory since October 21 are largely insufficient to meet the needs of the population, the official said.

“The current system is doomed to fail. What we need is significant and continuous aid, we need a humanitarian ceasefire so that aid can reach those who need it,” he said.

Asked about the Palestinian death toll, Filipe Lazzarini replied that as in previous wars in Gaza, reports given by Hamas authorities “are considered reliable and nobody has ever really questioned them.”

He stated that his organization has confirmed the deaths of 57 of its workers in the small Palestinian enclave since the start of the conflict.

The war was sparked by Hamas attacks on Israeli soil, which were unprecedented in their brutality and extent. They claimed the lives of over 1,400 people, the vast majority of whom were civilians.