UNRWA urges Israel to lift aid blockade in Gaza News
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UNRWA urges Israel to lift aid blockade in Gaza

Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) Philippe Lazzarini urged Israel on Sunday to lift the aid blockade in Gaza.

Lazzarini charged on his social media platform that “aid distribution has become a death trap.” The UNRWA head asserted that aid distribution in Gaza can only be effectively achieved through the United Nations. He demanded that Israel allow the UN to manage a safe and at-scale delivery of aid in Gaza, calling this “the only way to avert mass starvation including among 1 million children.”

The statement came hours after disputed reports of Israeli forces firing against civilians near an aid distribution point in Southern Gaza operated by the private US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF). While Gaza’s Civil Defense agency claimed the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) were responsible for the gunfire, the IDF called this a false report. The IDF further cited now-deleted footage to assert that Hamas is firing at civilians near aid distribution points. In light of these disputed reports, Lazzarini added: “With competing narratives and disinformation campaigns in full gear, international media must be allowed into Gaza to independently report on the ongoing atrocities.”

Reports indicate at least 31 deaths and more than 150 injured as civilians approached the GHF point. Lazzarini has criticized the GHF operation as a “humiliating system.” He said that Palestinians are forced to walk for tens of miles through areas devastated by Israeli attacks, and also that the distribution points themselves are neither safe nor at needed scale. GHF has also been described by rights organizations as illegitimate and inhumane, and acting in breach of international law.

UNRWA’s latest reports confirm that around 632,700 people have been forcibly displaced in Gaza since March 18. Israeli forces have also targeted UNRWA facilities, with at least 310 UNRWA members being killed and 311 installations damaged since October 7, 2023. UNRWA schools have also been targeted by Israeli forces, threatening Palestinian children’s right to education. UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Process Sigrid Kaag has urged a ceasefire and aid access to Gaza. The international community also voiced serious concerns about Israeli actions. The EU demanded that Israel allow humanitarian access in Gaza, and the governments of the UK, France and Canada recently delivered a joint statement opposing Israel’s ongoing military operations against the Palestinians.

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