The commissioner general of the UN Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA), Philippe Lazzarini, stated this Sunday that his staff “can no longer provide humanitarian assistance” to civilians in Gazadue to the siege imposed by the Israeli authorities to the Palestinian territory, controlled by the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas).

“As I speak to you, Gaza is running out of water and electricity. In fact, Gaza is being strangled and It seems like the world right now has lost its humanity.“, he explained in a press conference that he called, as he stated, “to raise the alarm.” Lazzarini, who indicated that “soon” the Gazans will be left without food or medicine, recalled that Israel has not allowed the entry of “a single drop of water, not a grain of wheat, not a liter of fuel” during the last eight days.

Therefore, the number of people seeking refuge in the agency’s facilities in the south of the territory “is absolutely overwhelming”: ““We no longer have the capacity to take care of them.”, he remarked, referring to the Israeli ultimatum to abandon the north of the enclave. “Before our eyes a unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe. “We must remember that even before the war, Gaza has been under blockade for 16 years and, basically, more than 60 percent of the population was already dependent on international food assistance,” he lamented.

They are deprived of dignity

In addition, sanitary conditions “are horrendous”, since hundreds of people share a single bathroom, while the elderly, minors, pregnant women and people with disabilities “they are being deprived of their dignity“: “This is a total shame,” he said. “This has no precedent whatsoever.. We continue to remember that International Humanitarian Law must now be at the center of concerns. “Wars, all wars, even this war, have laws,” he indicated, before recalling that these norms “establish minimum standards.”

Thus, he has stressed that the protection of civilians – including humanitarian workers – is not negotiable and has called the attack by the Israeli armed forces “horrendous.” “The attack and hostage taking are a flagrant violation of International Humanitarian Law, but the response to the murder of civilians can’t be killing more civilians“, he declared. While he asked lift the siege “before it is too late”, after condemning the measure and describing it as “collective punishment”, he reiterated that “all parties must facilitate a humanitarian corridor” to reach all those who need help.

“UNRWA and humanitarian aid agencies must be able to do their work and save lives. We must do it safely, without risking our own lives“said Lazzarini, who noted that UNRWA receives “more and more desperate calls every hour asking for help from people across the Strip,” but noted that the agency has lost 14 members of its staff and most of the employees are displaced or away from home.

The agency recalls that for a week Israel has not allowed the entry of humanitarian supplies into Gaza, where the water plant and its distribution networks have stopped working, so the population is forced to use dirty water from wells, with the consequent risk of waterborne diseases. Gaza has also suffered a power blackout since October 11, which also affects the water supply.