The United Nations headquarters building is pictured though a window with the UN logo in the foreground in the Manhattan borough of New York, the US. (Photo by Reuters)

The leaders of 18 United Nations agencies and non-profit organizations (NGO) have expressed their "shock and horror" at the soaring civilian deaths caused by the Israeli aggression on Gaza, calling for an "immediate ceasefire."

In a rare joint statement, the UN and NGO heads said "We need an immediate humanitarian ceasefire. It�s been 30 days. Enough is enough."

"This must stop now," they stressed.

The UN and NGO chiefs, including the leaders of UNICEF, UN Women, the World Food Program, the World Health Organization and Save the Children, said Israel�s "horrific" killings of civilians and the cutting off Gazans from food, water, medicine, electricity and fuel is "an outrage".

"For almost a month, the world has been watching the unfolding situation in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory in shock and horror at the spiraling numbers of lives lost and torn apart," the statement said.

It stressed that it is "unacceptable" that the entire population of Gaza is being denied the essentials for survival, and is being "bombed in their homes, shelters, hospitals and places of worship."

The statement noted that over 100 attacks against health care have been recorded in the besieged Gaza.

�88 UNRWA colleagues killed�

The group also decried the killing of dozens of aid workers.

"Scores of aid workers have been killed since October 7, including 88 UNRWA colleagues - the highest number of United Nations fatalities ever recorded in a single conflict."

The UN and NGO heads also called for humanitarian access to Gaza.

Israel launched the war on Gaza on October 7 after the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas waged the surprise Operation Al-Aqsa Storm against the occupying entity in response to the Israeli regime�s decades-long campaign of bloodletting and devastation against Palestinians.

Tel Aviv has also blocked water, food, and electricity to Gaza, plunging the coastal strip into a humanitarian crisis.

According to the Gaza-based health ministry, at least 9,770 Palestinians have been killed in the strikes, 70 percent of whom are women and children.

LINK: https://www.ansarpress.com/english/28296

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