UNRWA: Gaza siege must end, aid must enter territory
The Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees has warned that the Gaza siege must end, and that UNRWA and other UN-affiliated agencies are the only organizations that can distribute humanitarian aid to the entire population of Gaza.
Philippe Lazzarini said on Wednesday that no safe, dignified, or significant humanitarian aid has entered Gaza for three months since March 2, when Israel blockaded the enclave.
According to Lazzarini, the Israeli blockade has forcefully stopped the only organization (the UN and its affiliates) from distributing aid to the famine-stricken people of Gaza.
He said the UN is the only organization that has the experience and resources to dramatically increase distribution.
There has been no safe, dignified & significant aid in #Gaza for more than 3️⃣ months now.
— Philippe Lazzarini (@UNLazzarini) June 4, 2025
People’s suffering is unconscionable, deepening further on a daily basis.
We have got to & must go back to bringing in aid at scale to people wherever they are and deliver it safely.…
“We have got to and must go back to bringing in aid at scale to people wherever they are and deliver it safely. The only way to do this is through the United Nations, including UNRWA,” he said on his X account.
“We have the expertise, experience, and resources. We demonstrated a tangible impact during the ceasefire when obstacles were lifted. Delaying the decision to properly respond to the deepening hunger will further push down people in Gaza to an endless bottom and deepen dehumanization,” he added.
IPC: Gaza famine inevitable if siege continues
Another UN-affiliated organization, the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), has said the Gaza Strip is suffering from severe famine, and 94 days have passed since any food, fuel, medical supplies, or water has entered the enclave.
Goods and items that are necessary for people’s survival are either depleted or expected to run out in the coming days.
The entire population is facing high levels of starvation, with half a million people (one in five) facing level 5 famine.
Level 5 famine means “Households experience an extreme lack of food and/or cannot meet other basic needs even after full employment of coping strategies. Starvation, death, destitution, and extremely critical acute malnutrition levels are evident.”
IPC has warned that because of the expansion of the Israeli regime’s military operations throughout the Gaza Strip, its persistence in preventing humanitarian agencies from accessing populations in dire need, and its continued mass displacement of people, the risk of famine in the Gaza Strip is not just possible, it is increasingly likely.
Since October 7, 2023, when the Israeli regime began its genocidal war in Gaza, it has taken the lives of 54,607 Palestinians and wounded another 125,341, most of whom have been children and women, according to the health ministry of Gaza.
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