MADRID

The head of the UN agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) on Tuesday slammed the Israeli government’s policy of denying the famine in Gaza as “shameful.”

Speaking to the press at a seminar held in Santander, northern Spain, Philippe Lazzarini said: “There is a famine right now in Gaza. This is a man-made famine driven by political and military will.”

Lazzarini said Gaza is facing a situation that has “hit rock bottom” in humanitarian terms, adding that the failure of the international community to heed warnings about the famine is “shameful.”

“Gaza today is like hell. People are not only dying under bombardments, they are dying of hunger, and even when they go out to look for food, they are killed. Those who could reverse the situation in Gaza are doing nothing — no measures, no condemnation.

“Today we are witnessing complete impunity for Israel. There is no economic, political, or diplomatic cost for those committing these violations,” he said.

Calling for an immediate ceasefire and unrestricted access for humanitarian aid in Gaza, Lazzarini noted that aid equivalent to 6,000 UNRWA trucks, enough to cover the food needs of the Palestinian population for two months, is being held outside the Gaza Strip.

“The Israeli government’s policy of denying the famine in Gaza is shameful,” he said.

He also recalled that the number of humanitarian workers killed in Gaza is very high, with more than 360 UNRWA staff members having lost their lives.

Lazzarini strongly condemned the Israeli army’s airstrike on the Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, southern Gaza, which left journalists civilians dead.

He also called for support for Palestinian journalists, stressing that they remain the only witnesses to what is happening in Gaza, as Israel refuses to allow international reporters into the enclave to verify the situation on the ground.