UN contradicts Israel over depth of crisis in Gaza

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
The United Nations said Monday there is an "increasingly alarming" humanitarian crisis in Gaza, directly contradicting Israeli denials that any such predicament has followed its military offensive. UN humanitarian chief John Holmes told reporters Monday that UN officials believe as many as 25 percent of the 500 people killed in the fighting are civilians and that Gaza's health system is "increasingly precarious" due to the more than 2,500 injured. He said Gaza is running low on clean water, power, food, medicine and other supplies since Israel began launching a heavy attack on the Hamas that controls Gaza's government, first with airstrikes and then with troops and tanks. Israeli leaders have maintained consistently there is no humanitarian crisis for the Palestinians living in the densely populated territory, and that they have been keeping the border crossings open and are delivering vital supplies.