Martin Griffiths, the UN’s under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs, said earlier that the war in Gaza must stop as “tens of thousands of people, mostly women and children” have been killed and injured in the Palestinian territory.

Here are key extracts from his powerful statement:

“Three months since the horrific 7 October attacks, Gaza has become a place of death and despair.”

“Tens of thousands of people, mostly women and children, have been killed or injured.”

“Families are sleeping in the open as temperatures plummet.”

“Areas where civilians were told to relocate for their safety have come under bombardment.”

“Medical facilities are under relentless attack.”

“The few hospitals that are partially functional are overwhelmed with trauma cases, critically short of all supplies, and inundated by desperate people seeking safety.”

“A public health disaster is unfolding.”

“Infectious diseases are spreading in overcrowded shelters as sewers spill over.”

“Some 180 Palestinian women are giving birth daily amidst this chaos.”

“People are facing the highest levels of food insecurity ever recorded.”

“Famine is around the corner.”

“Gaza has simply become uninhabitable. Its people are witnessing daily threats to their very existence – while the world watches on.”

“We continue to demand an immediate end to the war, not just for the people of Gaza and its threatened neighbours, but for the generations to come who will never forget these 90 days of hell and of assaults on the most basic precepts of humanity.”

“This war should never have started. But it’s long past time for it to end.”