UNRWA Chief Warns of Spreading Hunger Crisis in Gaza

Philippe Lazzarini, commissioner-general of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) cautioned that hunger is spreading in Gaza amid the continuous Israeli offensive. Over 1 million people in Gaza did not receive food rations in August, and that number rose to over 1.4 million by September, Lazzarini said via his social media platform yesterday. He added that hunger in Gaza is entirely man-made and that more than 100,000 metric tonnes of food supplies have been cut off from Gaza due to restrictions on access, insecurity, damaged roads, and the breakdown of law and order.

Lazzarini said nearly 70 per cent of crop fields have been destroyed and the entire population is forced to exclusively rely on humanitarian aid and asked for an urgent ceasefire to end the suffering of people in Gaza.

Israel launched a large-scale offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip to retaliate against a Hamas rampage through the southern Israeli border on October 7, 2023.