The Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip has triggered a ‘protracted human dignity crisis’ with negative humanitarian consequences, UN says.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) released a report on Monday that the ongoing Israeli blockade, now in its third year, has resulted in the devastation of livelihoods, a rise in food insecurity, and an energy, water and sanitation crisis for the territory’s 1.5 million Palestinians.

"At the heart of this crisis is the degradation in the living conditions of the population, caused by the erosion of livelihoods and the gradual decline in the state of infrastructure, and the quality of vital services in the areas of health, water and sanitation, and education," said the report.

"The denial of Palestinians’ right to leave Gaza, or to move freely to the West Bank, particularly when their lives, physical integrity, or basic freedoms are under threat, is another key component of the current human dignity crisis," the report said.

Israel has imposed a siege on the impoverished territory of 1.5 million Palestinian people since June 2007 inflicting heavy damage on the civilian infrastructure resulting in a humanitarian crisis, which worsens day by day while the international community simply stands by and watches.

Palestinian sources say 344 patients have so far died post the Israeli Gaza war, because of a lack of medical supplies in the Gaza strip due to the Israeli siege.

(Press TV)