UNRWA chief: 鈥淒eliberate policy鈥� to limit aid to Gaza
Lazzarini says UNRWA will do 鈥渨hatever possible鈥� to scale up humanitarian response
The head of the UN relief agency for Palestinian refugees has told the 大象传媒 he believes there is 鈥渁 deliberate policy to keep the inflow of humanitarian assistance in Gaza limited鈥�.
Philippe Lazzarini, Commissioner-General of UNRWA said: 鈥淔or a long time, we had a total siege. Then we had a few trucks starting to come in. It's only recently over the last week, and also during the truce, that the number of trucks entering into Gaza has significantly increased.鈥�
Mr Lazzarini told Stephen Sackur that he had just returned from Gaza where he had assured people that the organisation 鈥渉ad no intention of leaving the Gaza strip鈥�.
鈥淚n Gaza, if UNWRA collapses鈥� leaves the Gaza Strip, the last glimpse of hope the Palestinians have would also disappear and would be felt as a betrayal from the international community,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e are today the last remaining big agency providing humanitarian assistance.鈥�
Nearly eight weeks of war in Gaza has displaced hundreds of thousands of people. Mr Lazzarini said UN premises sheltering up to a million people had not been respected either by Israel or Hamas and more than 200 people had been killed and more than 900 injured in United Nations premises there.
Around 1,200 people were killed and an estimated 240 people taken hostage when Hamas launched an attack on Israel from the Gaza strip on October 7.
The Israeli military responded with air strikes on Gaza and launched a ground offensive. More than 15,000 people have been killed in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.
