UN chief says Gaza war in ‘cruelest phase’

Aid groups warn that Gaza is plunging deeper into malnutrition and famine, as Israel pressed ahead with its military offensive. The United Nations chief said Friday (May 23) that Palestinians were enduring “the cruelest phase” of the war in Gaza. “Have mercy on us,” said a distraught Youssef al-Najjar, whose relatives were killed in an air strike in the main southern city of Khan Yunis. “We are exhausted from the displacement and the hunger – enough”.