New York (Quds News Network)- Farhan Haq, spokesperson for UN Secretary-General António Guterres, stated that humanitarian operations in Gaza "are on the verge of shutting down," with aid "simply not available" for large numbers of people, as Israel continues its crippling blockade of the Palestinian enclave. He told reporters on Tuesday in New York that the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) earlier said Israel continues to deny access to fuel reserves in some areas, including Rafah. “For large portions of the population, the sort of things that we’ve been providing for the last year and a half are simply not available any more, either because of lack of food, lack of fuel or lack of facilities that are undamaged.” Haq warned “more and more of our operations are shutting down.” Since March 2, Israel has closed Gaza’s main crossings, halting the flow of food, medical aid, and other humanitarian supplies. This blockade has caused a severe and unprecedented decline in living conditions, with human rights organizations accusing Israel of using starvation as a weapon of war against Palestinians. At least 57 people, the majority of whom are children, sick, and elder people, have died from malnutrition in Gaza since the start of the Israeli genocide in October 2023, Gaza’s Government Media Office stated on Saturday. Israel also resumed its genocide in Gaza on March 18 after violating the ceasefire agreement signed in January, killing over 2,500 Palestinians and wounding more than 6,700—mostly children and women, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry. The United Nations has repeatedly warned of humanitarian catastrophe, with the enclave on the brink of “full-scale famine conditions.” Last week, Philippe Lazzarini, head of the UN agency for the Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), said the Israeli siege is collectively punishing children, women, older people and men in Gaza. The UN’s World Food Programme said lately that its food supplies had been “depleted” amid the siege, warning that community kitchens upon which thousands of Palestinians rely would be forced to close. Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians of all ages are experiencing high levels of food insecurity in Gaza, according to the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) system, a global hunger watchdog. Children in the enclave have not only faced relentless bombardment, but are also being deprived of essential goods, services and lifesaving care, UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell said in a statement on Friday. “With each passing day of the aid blockade, they face the growing risk of starvation, illness and death – nothing can justify this,” Russell said. “The sea they used for fishing has been restricted. Bakeries are closing, water production is declining, and market shelves are almost bare.” In the past month, she said, families have been forced to choose between showering, cleaning, and cooking as access to water is quickly deteriorating. Vaccines are also running out, Russell warned, and diseases are spreading rapidly. “Malnutrition is also on the rise,” she said, adding that more than 9,000 children have been admitted for treatment of acute malnutrition since the beginning of the year. On Saturday, Dr. Munir al-Bursh, the General Director of the Ministry of Health, announced that Gaza has entered the fifth phase of famine. This phase poses the greatest danger to the lives of residents and means witnessing cases of mass deaths. “We have seen a doubling in child mortality under the age of five, rising from 13 deaths per 1,000 children to 32 per 1,00”, al-Bursh said. “We call on the UN Security Council to declare a state of famine in Gaza and to open humanitarian corridors to deliver food and medicine.”