The head of UNRWA, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, warned on Saturday that Gaza’s residents are ‘suffering from suffocation’ due to ongoing bombardment.
Philippe Lazzarini, the head of UNRWA, which operates in Gaza, made these remarks at an emergency summit of Arab and Islamic countries in Riyadh.
Lazzarini stated that the continuous bombing of Gaza, combined with the blockade, is suffocating the region and its people. He noted that over 700,000 women, children, and men are now living in UNRWA schools and shelters.
He added, “Essential services are collapsing. Everything is running out – food, water, medicine, and fuel.”
Lazzarini mentioned that UNRWA staff are still managing around 150 shelters. “They are keeping a third of our health centers open and running mobile clinics. They are delivering medicines to hospitals.”
He expressed that the people of Gaza feel dehumanized and neglected. He urged the summit to support efforts for ‘a humanitarian ceasefire, with strict adherence to international humanitarian law’.
He also stated that a targeted and continuous flow of humanitarian aid is crucial. However, he claimed that “logistics and truck inspections by Israel are extremely burdensome. They only allow a limited number of trucks to enter Gaza.”
Lazzarini added, ‘We must increase the volume of aid and use other crossings, including those within Israel, such as Kerem Shalom.’
A significant number of Arab leaders are participating in the emergency meeting held in Riyadh on Saturday under the banner of the Joint Extraordinary Arab-Islamic Summit.
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is hosting the summit in response to ‘unprecedented conditions in Gaza’, according to a statement released by the Saudi Foreign Ministry.
