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The head of the US Agency for International Development (USAID) has warned that the situation in Gaza is “worse than ever before.”

In a statement on X, USAID Director Samantha Power said, “Our humanitarian partners working in Gaza tell us that conditions are worse now than ever before. Israeli military operations & closed crossings are making it extremely difficult to distribute aid.”

Her statement follows an event where she warned about the “catastrophic consequences” that are to come if Israel continues to conduct military operations deeper into Gaza. She said, “For months now, President Biden and officials across our administration, myself included, have made clear to Israel that a major ground military operation in Rafah would put civilians at immense risk and imperil the humanitarian response. Despite currently more limited military operations around Rafah and the Egypt-Gaza border, the catastrophic consequences that we have long warned about are becoming a reality.”

This development comes after President Biden warned earlier this month that he would halt the shipment of offensive weaponry to Israel if they launched a military operation into Rafah that did not ensure the safety of the roughly 1.2 million civilians on the ground. This threat provoked a backlash from conservatives, leading House Republicans to propose legislation to reverse the weapons freeze, a measure Biden has vowed to veto.

Despite the calls to not go in, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has maintained that Israel will fully “finish Hamas” and not back down due to pressure from countries around the world. Rafah, which is currently Hamas’s last holdout, is estimated to have between 3,000 and 8,000 fighters operating within the area.