The head of the United Nations Office for Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), Martin Griffiths, who has been particularly critical of the consequences of the Israeli offensive in Gaza, will resign for health reasons, a UN spokesman announced on Monday, as quoted by AFP.

“Martin Griffiths has informed the secretary general of his intention to step down due to health reasons,” Farhan Haq said, adding that he would remain in office until June to arrange a transition.

“After three years in this role, I have informed António Guterres of my intention to step down in June,” Martin Griffiths said in a message on X (formerly Twitter), thanking his team and all UN partners for “defending the cause of peoples”. in crisis”.

The British diplomat was appointed to the position in 2021, before that he held the position of the UN special representative in Yemen.

In recent months, he has pushed for humanitarian aid to be allowed into Gaza, denouncing obstruction by Israeli authorities.

“There has been a lot of discussion and accusations about the difficulty of delivering aid to the needy people in Gaza. Therefore, let’s solve this problem once and for all,” he insisted a few days ago.

“The restrictions on the distribution of aid in Gaza are set by those who block the movement of convoys intended to feed tens of thousands of starving people (…), by those who continue to bomb Gaza. Israel must remove all obstacles to aid,” the diplomat said.

In recent months, he has also expressed concern about the lack of international attention to the nearly year-long war in Sudan.

A few days ago, Martin Griffiths sent a letter to the UN Security Council warning that 5 million people could face “catastrophic food shortages” in the coming months.

The secretary-general expressed his “appreciation” for his services, Farhan Haq said. “He fought tirelessly to ensure that vital aid reached those who needed it and that he had the resources to do so.”