GAZA (Palestine Foundation Information Center) A spokesperson for the Khan Yunis Municipality in southern Gaza has issued a stark warning about the escalating humanitarian catastrophe in the city, following the Israeli military’s takeover of vast agricultural lands east of the city, particularly along the Morag axis—previously the last remaining source of local food production.
Speaking to the press on Thursday, Saeb Laqqan stated that Israeli forces have continued to seize control of eastern and southern neighborhoods, including Salam, Qizan Abu Rashwan, and parts of Qizan Al-Najjar, through a policy of systematic destruction and forced displacement using artillery fire and airstrikes aimed at depopulating the areas and establishing what the occupation refers to as a “security buffer.”
Laqqan explained that these areas, along with the agricultural zone of Al-Mawasi, constituted the primary source of food for the city. However, Israel’s ongoing military offensive and the mass displacement of around 800,000 Palestinians into the Al-Mawasi region have led to an almost total cessation of agricultural activity. This, he said, has effectively deprived Khan Yunis of both local food production and the ability to import food due to the continuing blockade.
On 14 April, Israeli War Minister Yoav Gallant announced that Israeli forces had seized control of the Morag axis—a strategic corridor spanning 12 kilometers east to west across Gaza, dividing Khan Yunis from Rafah. He claimed the territory between the Philadelphi Corridor and Morag now forms part of Israel’s so-called “security belt.”
According to Laqqan, the humanitarian situation extends far beyond food insecurity. The water sector is also collapsing, with key infrastructure severely damaged. He noted that the Israeli army targeted the Ma’an water line east of Khan Yunis, which supplies six main neighborhoods, leaving more than 100,000 residents without access to clean water. Additionally, the city’s supply from the Israeli-run Mekorot water network has been cut off.
Fuel shortages have further compounded the crisis, halting the operation of water wells, desalination plants, and sewage pumps. “The city stands on the brink of total service collapse,” Laqqan warned, stressing the absence of any effective international response. “The occupation is deliberately targeting the essential pillars of daily life—from food and water to health and public infrastructure—in a clear attempt to exacerbate the humanitarian crisis.”
He appealed to the international community and humanitarian agencies to urgently intervene by delivering fuel and emergency aid, to help save the lives of over 400,000 people facing hunger and thirst in a city now completely besieged and cut off from the outside world.
In March, Israeli forces cut off the limited electricity supply to Gaza’s main water desalination plant in the central region. A few days later, the second-largest facility also ceased operations due to fuel shortages, exacerbated by Israel’s continued closure of all border crossings since early March—a policy seen as part of the broader campaign of collective punishment.
Since Israel resumed its full-scale assault on 18 March, the Ministry of Health in Gaza has reported 1,691 Palestinians killed and 4,464 injured, the vast majority of them women and children.
Overall, the Israeli military campaign—carried out with direct American support since 7 October 2023—has resulted in over 167,000 Palestinian casualties, including tens of thousands of women and children, and more than 11,000 people remain missing under the rubble.
Israel has maintained a blockade on Gaza for 18 years. Today, over 1.5 million of Gaza’s 2.4 million residents are homeless, as the war has flattened entire neighborhoods. The Strip has now entered a phase of famine due to the ongoing closure of border crossings, which has choked off humanitarian assistance.
