Image Source: The Guardian
Occupied Gaza Strip – UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini has reported that the humanitarian response in Gaza is collapsing. He stated that frontline workers are now among those going hungry, as Israel’s ongoing blockade and bombardment have decimated food supplies and severely restricted aid delivery.
Health workers attempting to treat the wounded and ill are themselves malnourished. Many are collapsing while on duty, surviving on as little as one meal a day.
“UNRWA frontline health workers are surviving on one small meal a day, often just lentils, if at all. They are increasingly fainting from hunger while at work,” he said.
Lazzarini warned that the broader aid operation is disintegrating. With even caregivers unable to meet their basic needs, he said, the humanitarian system is no longer functional.
The collapse is also evident in the families arriving at UNRWA clinics, who are too physically depleted to follow medical advice. The crisis, he noted, has reached all levels of society.
“Parents are too hungry to care for their children. Those who reach UNRWA clinics don’t have the energy, food, or means to follow medical advice,” he said.
Palestinian Children Are Dying of Hunger
According to Lazzarini, one in five children in Gaza City is now malnourished. The number of Palestinians killed by Israel’s daily attacks continues to rise. At the same time, starvation deepens under the ongoing siege and bombardment.
“Most children our teams are seeing are emaciated, weak and at high risk of dying if they don’t get the treatment they urgently need,” he said.
He confirmed that over 100 people have died from hunger, the vast majority of them children. He added that families are no longer able to endure the conditions they are subjected to.
“More than 100 people, the vast majority of them children, have reportedly died of hunger,” he said. “Families are no longer coping; they are breaking down, unable to survive. Their existence is threatened.”
Lazzarini said that UNRWA currently has thousands of trucks loaded with food and medical supplies waiting in Jordan and Egypt. He appealed for immediate access to deliver this assistance without obstruction.
“We, at UNRWA, have the equivalent of 6,000 loaded trucks of food and medical supplies in Jordan and Egypt,” he said. “Allow humanitarian partners to bring unrestricted and uninterrupted humanitarian assistance to Gaza.”
