The head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) has said that Gaza’s current aid distribution system is being run by mercenaries, including what he called “anti-Muslim gangsters.”
Lazzarini stressed that addressing famine in Gaza “requires uninterrupted, at-scale and safe access to people in need wherever they are.”
“The UN, including UNRWA and partners, have the resources and the expertise. Let us do our job,” he said.
Since May 27, Israel has operated an alternative aid distribution channel through the so-called Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, backed by the US but rejected by the UN and Palestinians, who call it a “death trap.”
Israel has also kept all crossings into Gaza closed since March 2, blocking food, medicine and humanitarian supplies, pushing the enclave into famine despite aid trucks piling up at its borders.
The Israeli army has continued a brutal offensive on Gaza, killing at least 64,700 Palestinians since October 2023. The military offensive has devastated the enclave, which is now facing a man-made famine.
