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Gaza is 'open-air prison'–UN humanitarian chief
The United Nations under secretary general for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator warned yesterday of an impending humanitarian disaster if Egypt succeeds in blocking the tunnels that pass under its border into the Gaza Strip.
John Holmes said that as bad as the hundreds of tunnels that bypass the Israeli blockade are, Gaza would have difficult surviving if Egypt succeeds in blocking them because they are a conduit for badly-needed food, medicine and commercial goods.
He repeated calls for Israel to end its blockade of the Palestinian territory.
"If those tunnels were blocked, however undesirable they may be, and however undesirable the effect they're having on the Gazan society and Gazan economy, the situation without the tunnels would be completely unsustainable," said Mr Holmes, who visited the region for four days earlier this month.