Gaza, March 9 (IANS) Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), Philippe Lazzarini, has said that the situation in the Gaza Strip defies description and has not been seen “in any previous crisis”.
“We are facing a tragedy that is not related to food,” Lazzarini said on Friday in a press statement, noting that people in Gaza suffer from deliberate starvation operations that could have been avoided, Xinhua news agency reported.
He warned that the Gaza Strip, inhabited by about 2.35 million people, is on the verge of entering into a famine, and “children there are dying due to hunger and thirst,” stressing the need to open land crossings for aid trucks to enter Gaza.
“Airdrops cannot replace land aid,” he added.
According to the Gaza-based Health Ministry, at least 20 people, mostly children, have died as a result of malnutrition and drought caused by the war.
Meanwhile, Lazzarini said that the agency “has not yet received any evidence confirming Israel’s allegations that UNRWA employees participated in the October 7 attack,” noting that it would be wrong to dismantle the UNRWA before reaching a permanent political solution.
In January, the organisation was rocked by Israel’s accusations that 12 UNRWA employees were involved in the October 7 attacks in southern Israel, carried out by Hamas.
It led to several countries halting contributions of nearly $440 million, representing nearly half of UNRWA’s yearly funding.
Lazzarini said late last month that the agency is facing repeated calls by Israel to dismantle UNRWA and freeze its funding by donors.
–IANS
int/khz
Disclaimer
The information contained in this website is for general information purposes only. The information is provided by TodayIndia.news and while we endeavour to keep the information up to date and correct, we make no representations or warranties of any kind, express or implied, about the completeness, accuracy, reliability, suitability or availability with respect to the website or the information, products, services, or related graphics contained on the website for any purpose. Any reliance you place on such information is therefore strictly at your own risk.
In no event will we be liable for any loss or damage including without limitation, indirect or consequential loss or damage, or any loss or damage whatsoever arising from loss of data or profits arising out of, or in connection with, the use of this website.
Through this website you are able to link to other websites which are not under the control of TodayIndia.news We have no control over the nature, content and availability of those sites. The inclusion of any links does not necessarily imply a recommendation or endorse the views expressed within them.
Every effort is made to keep the website up and running smoothly. However, TodayIndia.news takes no responsibility for, and will not be liable for, the website being temporarily unavailable due to technical issues beyond our control.
For any legal details or query please visit original source link given with news or click on Go to Source.
Our translation service aims to offer the most accurate translation possible and we rarely experience any issues with news post. However, as the translation is carried out by third part tool there is a possibility for error to cause the occasional inaccuracy. We therefore require you to accept this disclaimer before confirming any translation news with us.
If you are not willing to accept this disclaimer then we recommend reading news post in its original language.