The highest-ranking Catholic official in the Holy Land has condemned Gaza’s humanitarian crisis as “morally unacceptable” following a visit to the besieged enclave.

“We have seen men holding out in the sun for hours in the hope of a simple meal,” Latin Patriarch Pierbattista Pizzaballa told reporters on Tuesday. “It’s morally unacceptable and unjustified,” said Pizzaballa as reported by the AFP.

Pizzaballa’s remarks came after witnessing the extreme suffering and deprivation faced by Palestinians living under months of Israeli bombardment and blockade.