Philippe Lazzarini, Commissioner-General of the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, warned on Wednesday that siege, hunger, and diseases will soon become the main killer in Gaza.
“Siege, hunger, and diseases will soon become the main killer in Gaza,” Lazzarini wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
“This fabricated and catastrophic level of hunger can still be reversed by flooding Gaza with food and life-saving assistance,” he said. “More than ever Humanity requires political will.”
Earlier in the day, UNRWA said in a press release that famine is imminent in the Gaza Strip, especially for isolated populations in northern Gaza deprived of humanitarian aid.
The statement noted that the integrated phase classification for food security concluded that up to 1.1 million people in Gaza are facing catastrophic levels of food insecurity.
It highlighted rapidly deteriorating food security conditions, including an increase of nearly 80 percent in the number of people facing the highest classification of food insecurity since last October’s initial assessment.
The increase resulted from intensified combat operations, significant limitations on the access of humanitarian aid, and severe restrictions imposed on the supply of essential goods and services.
Israel has been on a large-scale offensive against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip to retaliate against a Hamas rampage through the southern Israeli border on Oct. 7, 2023, during which about 1,200 people were killed and more than 200 were taken hostage.
