UNRWA chief blames Israel for ‘deliberate’ Gaza famine after 5 months of aid blockade
Lazzarini says politically driven Gaza Humanitarian Foundation responsible for nearly 1,400 starvation deaths
ISTANBUL
The head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) on Saturday accused Israel of deliberately creating famine in Gaza by blocking aid deliveries and sidelining his agency for five months.
“The manmade famine in Gaza has been largely shaped by the deliberate attempts to replace the UN coordinated humanitarian system through the politically motivated ‘GHF’. It is a so‑called ‘aid system’ responsible for the killing of nearly 1,400 starving people,” Philippe Lazzarini said in a statement on X.
He said Israel has prevented UNRWA, the “backbone of humanitarian response,” from delivering aid to Gaza since March 2.
“Sidelining and weakening UNRWA has nothing to do with claims of aid diversion to armed groups. It is a deliberate measure to collectively pressure and punish Palestinians for living in Gaza,” he added, stressing that “no time can be wasted anymore” and urging a political decision to unconditionally open the crossings.
Lazzarini said UNRWA has the expertise, staff, and resources “to contribute full scale and reverse the famine.”
On Saturday, Gaza’s Health Ministry reported that seven more Palestinians, including a child, had died from starvation, raising the total death toll from hunger to 169, including 93 children, since Oct. 7, 2023.
The ministry said 39 Palestinians were killed and 849 injured while seeking aid, bringing the toll of those killed while searching for food and assistance to 1,422, with more than 10,067 wounded since May 27, when the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) began operations.
Rejecting international calls for a ceasefire, the Israeli army has pursued a brutal offensive on Gaza since Oct. 7, 2023, killing more than 60,400 Palestinians, most of them women and children. The relentless bombing has destroyed the enclave and led to a high risk of famine.
Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.
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