UNRWA director warns of real famine risk in Gaza

GAZA, Oct. 17 (YPA) – Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), Philippe Lazzarini, warned that “Gaza faces a real risk of famine.”

This came the day after the United States announced that it had warned the Israeli occupation authorities of the need to improve the delivery of aid to the Strip.

“There is a real risk today that we are in a situation where famine or severe malnutrition is a possibility again with the arrival of winter and the weakening of the immune systems of the population of Gaza,” Lazzarini said from Berlin on Wednesday evening.

Large areas of Gaza have been destroyed as a result of the genocidal war that the Israeli occupation has been waging on the Strip since October 7, 2023.

The occupation authorities have intensified their aggression on the northern part of the besieged Strip, especially Jabalia camp, while the United Nations has warned that hundreds of thousands of Palestinians are trapped in the area.

Lazzarini painted a bleak picture of the humanitarian situation in Gaza, saying: “The Strip has become a wasteland, almost uninhabitable.”

Regarding the delivery of aid to Gaza, Lazzarini said, “In the past two or three weeks, no convoy has entered the north except the last Tuesday.” There is a significant decrease in convoys to the south, between 50 and 60, intended for two million people, while we estimate that the number required is much higher.”

He noted that “convoys that have managed to enter have been looted due to the complete collapse of security and order,” but he added that “with appropriate measures, a hunger crisis in Gaza can be avoided if convoys and food are allowed in.”

“We have shown that we can carry out a polio campaign, so why can’t we bring in food?” Lazzarini asked.

AA