UNRWA: Gaza residents are subjected to “collective punishment”

Gaza (Union)

Philippe Lazzarini, Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), said that the residents of Gaza are being subjected to “collective punishment” in light of the scarcity of humanitarian aid.
Lazzarini added in a message published on the “X” platform yesterday, regarding the situation in the Gaza Strip: “Gaza, a brutal war that has been going on for three months, mass displacement, human losses, injuries, and destruction. The unbearable suffering has been exacerbated by the continued dehumanization and unlimited promotion of hate speech.” . He pointed out that “the Palestinian people are being subjected to collective punishment, while only a little humanitarian aid is allowed.” He explained that the situation in Gaza was heading toward famine, calling for a ceasefire.
It is noteworthy that the Director of UNRWA Affairs in Gaza, Thomas White, stressed last December 30 that “the Gaza Strip is suffering from catastrophic hunger, and 40% of its population is at risk of famine.” He added, “Every day in Gaza is a struggle for survival. In search of food and water, there is a need for more regular supplies, which requires safe and sustainable access to humanitarian supplies everywhere, including northern Gaza.”
Yesterday, the United Nations said that the number of displaced people who arrived in the city of Rafah, south of the Gaza Strip, had reached about one million, since the start of the war on October 7th.
The United Nations added, “Rafah Governorate has now become the main refuge for displaced people, with more than a million people living in a very crowded area, following the intensification of hostilities in Khan Yunis and Deir al-Balah, and evacuation orders issued by the Israeli army.”
The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights reaffirmed that there is no safe space in Gaza.
The commission said in a statement: “We cannot talk about safety anywhere. People are sleeping on the streets in the open, and some of them were not even able to follow evacuation orders.”
In addition, the head of the Egyptian Red Crescent in North Sinai, Khaled Zayed, announced that 127 humanitarian and medical aid trucks and 4 fuel trucks crossed the Rafah crossing into Gaza yesterday. Zayed added, in a statement, that the crossing received a batch of foreigners and dual nationals in preparation for their entry into Egypt.
He said that ambulances were deployed at the crossing in preparation for the arrival of injured Palestinians coming from Gaza in preparation for their transfer to hospitals in North Sinai.