US call at UN for Gaza truce linked to hostages blocked

Let’s turn our attention to what’s happening on the ground in Gaza, and a Unicef worker says “The devastation in Gaza is unlike anything most people have ever seen”.

Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, James Elder, from the UN children’s agency, says it’s imperative to implement an immediate ceasefire and allow more aid into the country. He says Gaza is teeming with people living on the streets desperate for food, including children, describing it as a “malnutrition crisis”.

Elder says more land crossings for aid deliveries need to be opened but a ceasefire would be the “gamechanger”, adding that it’s “almost Gaza’s last hope”.

Speaking from the southern city of Rafah, he adds that it’s “now a city of children and the idea that there will be no ceasefire and a military offensive here, it will be just catastrophic for children, for civilians here”.