GAZA CITY - The top UN humanitarian affairs official, John Holmes, visited the Gaza Strip on Friday and said he was "shocked by the miserable things" he had seen.
Holmes, under-secretary general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief coordinator, was in Gaza on the second day of a five-day visit to the Palestinian territories and Israel.
He told reporters at a news conference that the misery he saw was the result of the current closed border crossings with Israel and the "limited food and other materials allowed in."
Gaza is one of the most densely populated places in the world and is home to around 1.5 million Palestinians who struggle against overwhelming levels of poverty and Israeli violence.
Holmes said he was concerned about the dependence of 80 percent of the population on food aid, widespread joblessness, problems with the sewerage and water systems, limited supplies of fuel and electricity and the shortage of supplies in hospitals.
He had said before arriving in the region on Thursday that he was coming "in solidarity with the people of this region, who have suffered great misery and insecurity."
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