Today the United Nations called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, the immediate

release of all Israeli hostages, and for humanitarian aid access to be unimpeded.

Nick Schifrin speaks to the head of the UN's humanitarian effort in Gaza.

Sigrid Kog is a Dutch politician, a former first deputy prime minister and diplomat

with years of experience at the UN and

throughout the Middle East. She is now the UN senior humanitarian and

reconstruction coordinator for Gaza. She's visited Gaza often since taking over the job earlier this year and

today briefed the Security Council.

Sigurd Kod, thanks very much. Welcome to the news hour. In that briefing to the

Security Council today, you said the war had had quote turned Gaza into the abyss.

What do you mean?

Well everything is destroyed, life has halted, over 41,000 Palestinians have lost their lives and over 90,000 have been injured.

And in that group you have a lot of women, children who have sustained life-changing injuries,

so it is dystopian. It's also very strange when you go to

Gaza and I've been going in and out of Gaza over 30 years to see that there's no

building standing the roads are destroyed, people are all huddled in tents.

It's a total life-changing experience for everyone in Gaza and for those who try to work there to render assistance

it is something that you cannot imagine that alone describe

let me highlight one recent success before we get to some of the specifics you just said.

Thanks to agreed pauses in the fighting, the first of two rounds of polio vaccines

have been completed and have reached 90% of Gaza's 640,000 children.

How have the World Health Organization, UNICEF and UNRWA,

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