The head of the agency supporting Palestinian refugees warns it could soon run out of money to sustain its operations due to “disinformation” from Israel. Thousands of people are fleeing hunger in the north of the Gaza Strip. According to medical sources, 16 children died of malnutrition.
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The director of the United Nations Palestine Refugee Agency (UNRWA) said on Monday that “it is facing a deliberate and concerted campaign to undermine its operations” and ultimately end its activities.
Philippe Lazzarini said UNRWA is at a “breaking point” and may soon be unable to fulfill its mandate as funding is cut because of Israel's claims that the organization's staff were involved in the Hamas attacks in October been involved.
In a speech to the UN General Assembly, Lazzarini accused Israel of conducting a disinformation campaign against UNRWA:
“The Agency's operations are mandated by this Assembly and part of this campaign is to flood donors with disinformation designed to incite distrust and damage the Agency's reputation. Even more egregious is the fact that the Israeli prime minister has openly stated that UNRWA will not be in “postwar Gaza,” he said.
Lazzarini added that the implementation of this plan is already underway with the “destruction” of UNRWA infrastructure “across the Gaza Strip.”
For Lazzarini, “only UNRWA is able to provide services, including education and primary health care, on a large scale, in the absence of a fullfledged state agency.”
“Providing education to half a million deeply traumatized children living in the rubble is conspicuously absent from discussions on the transfer of services in Gaza,” the UNRWA chief stressed.
Isrel insists on “clear connection between Hamas terrorists and UNRWA”
The spokesman for the Israel Defense Forces claimed this Monday that more than 450 UNRWA employees were “agents of terrorist groups in Gaza.”
Daniel Hagari also accused Hamas of exploiting humanitarian organizations to commit crimes against humanity and receiving salaries financed by donations from the international community intended for humanitarian aid in Gaza.
Israel reiterates that there is a “clear connection between Hamas terrorists and UNRWA,” even naming agency officials who were allegedly involved in the “October 7 massacre.”
“The worst is yet to come,” UNRWA chief warns
The number of children who have died in Gaza due to malnutrition and inadequate medical care has risen to 16, according to medical sources, after the Gaza Strip Health Ministry confirmed the deaths of 15 children at the Kamal Adwan Hospital in the north of the Gaza Strip.
With the World Food Program cutting off food deliveries, thousands of Palestinians are fleeing hunger in the north of the enclave and heading south in search of food.
The UNRWA leader warns that “the worst is yet to come” and denounces the deaths of “monthold babies” due to “malnutrition and dehydration” as well as amputations of children without “anesthesia.”
Since Israel's military operation began on October 7 in response to Hamas attacks, around 300,000 residents of Gaza City have survived on scarce prewar food reserves.
At the moment, everything edible, including animal feed, is practically sold out.
As famine becomes a serious threat, many Palestinian families have decided to flee to the south.
“There is no food, no water, the children are suffering”said Manar Jerjawi, who fled the northern Gaza Strip.
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“The children are tired, the women are tired; and everyone wants to die. Death is more merciful than what we go through“, he added.
Jerjawi lost a son who was collecting flour and another son was injured in similar circumstances.
The besieged enclave is ravaged by famine, and food and relief supplies are struggling to reach the most vulnerable.
The south, where most of Gaza's two million residents have fled, is also suffering.
Health authorities in the southern city of Rafah and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) indicate a More and more underweight children are being treated in hospitals.
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Since the start of the military offensive in the Gaza Strip, Israel has prevented the entry of food, water, medicine and other goods, with the exception of a small amount of aid entering the south from Egypt through the Rafah post and Kerem Shalom post, into Israel.
Despite international calls to let more aid in, the number of supply trucks has fallen dramatically in recent weeks.
U.N. officials say their efforts to unload incoming trucks and distribute aid have been hampered by the Israeli offensive and ongoing fighting, military restrictions, a shortage of trucks and social collapse as starving Palestinians attack aid vehicles and seize supplies.
The UN called on Israel to open passages in the north of the country to support deliveries and ensure safe corridors for trucks.
IEvidence of rape by Hamas fighters
A UN team says it has found significant evidence that sexual violence occurred during the October 7 attack on Israel.
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Still, an official from the organization stresses that the conclusions “in no way legitimize” more violence and called for a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of prisoners.