UNRWA chief: Conditions in Gaza ‘absolutely unbearable’

On Thursday, Lazzarini told reporters at a news conference at UN headquarters in New York that conditions in Gaza remain "absolutely unbearable," describing the situation as "hell in all its possible facets."

"I think it's always important, day after day, to remind ourselves about the overall unfolding there, just to make sure that we do not start to feel outdated or indifferent," Lazzarini said.

He said conditions are so dire that "it's quite common now today to hear in Gaza that people just dream to be able to properly die, rather than to go through this suffering."

"I think it's very important to keep expressing total outrage on what's going on, and of course, and part of our frustration is that this outrage has not yet been translated into meaningful action, putting an end to the atrocity that we are recording on a daily basis," he said.

Lazzarini urged the world leaders to act. He said a full classroom of children dies every hour, while large amounts of food are blocked outside Gaza.

He criticized the Israeli- and US-backed so-called Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, calling it a tool for political and military objectives.

Lazzarini said the humanitarian system is collapsing in Gaza, calling on Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu to put an end to this hell.

He stressed that only a political decision can stop the suffering of Palestinians in the territory and restore meaningful aid access.

Lazzarini affirmed UNRWA's commitment to serving Palestinians. "We are still operational in Gaza. We still have 12,000 staff," he said.

"We needed a ceasefire yesterday. We need the release of the hostages. We needed yesterday a scaling up of the imminent assistance to reverse what's unfolding onwards. We also need now is that we restore the humanitarian response," he said.

Zionist regime’s genocidal war on Gaza started on October 7, 2023, after Palestinian resistance fighters carried out Operation Al-Aqsa Flood against the occupying entity in response to its decades-long campaign of death and devastation against the Palestinians in the West Bank.

The Zionist regime’s bloody onslaught on the besieged strip has so far martyred at least 65,419 Palestinians, mostly women and children, with thousands more feared buried under destroyed buildings.