UN Commissioner: Endless nightmare in Gaza and silent tragedy in the West Bank

GAZA, Oct. 01 (YPA) – The Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), Philippe Lazzarini, described the Israeli`s ongoing aggression on the Gaza Strip for nearly a year as an endless nightmare.

This came in statements made by Lazzarini to reporters at the United Nations office in Genevain Geneva last night, following meetings with representatives of several countries.

The UN official said, “Gaza has become uninhabitable, its people face disease, death or hunger on a daily basis.”

Lazzarini pointed out that “the people of Gaza are trapped in 10% of the land” in the Strip after being in a state of constant movement “in search of safety that they never found.”

According to Lazzarini, 620,000 children live among the rubble of destroyed homes in Gaza.He said that during his meetings with UN member states in New York and Geneva, he asked them to make education a collective priority that goes beyond life-saving activities.

He stated that UNRWA had already begun, despite the unusual and complex environment, a month ago to return some children to a learning environment.

“We must never forget that the only asset that has never been taken away from the Palestinians is education. They have been deprived of several things over the past decades, but they have never been deprived of education, and education was essentially their source of pride,” he added.

Lazzarini referred to the situation in the West Bank, describing it as a silent tragedy.

He said that “military operations” against the camps in the West Bank have led to widespread destruction to infrastructure.

Regarding developments in Lebanon, the UN official indicated that they have so far hosted 3,500 people in UNRWA shelters in 9 locations, including Palestinians, Syrians and Lebanese who fled southern Lebanon.

@E.Y.M