In a plea for political and monetary help from Member States, UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini underscored that the agency was “staggering under the weight of relentless attacks in Gaza”, after almost 9 months of intense Israeli bombardment and floor operations.
“The pressures on the agency today are greater than ever before,” he insisted.
In addition to the 193 UNRWA personnel killed since Hamas-led terror assaults and hostage-taking sparked the warfare, Mr. Lazzarini detailed the sheer scale of the destruction to UN premises.
More than 180 installations have been broken or destroyed since 7 October and “at least 500 people” have been killed searching for safety underneath the UN flag, he defined.
“Our premises have been used for military purposes by Israel, Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups,” the UNRWA chief informed a gathering of the Advisory Commission in Geneva. “Our convoys have come under attack despite coordinated movement with Israeli authorities in the West Bank…operational space is shrinking.”
Highlighting how Gaza is now “a living hell” for greater than two million individuals there, the senior humanitarian official famous that kids proceed to die of malnutrition and dehydration, “while food and clean water wait in trucks” exterior the enclave.
And amid rising studies of a collapse in legislation and order, Mr. Lazzarini pointed to rampant looting and smuggling now occurring, delaying the supply of desperately wanted humanitarian help.
Among Gaza’s most susceptible, kids are among the many worst-affected by the continued warfare, he insisted, with greater than 625,000 “deeply traumatized” children “living in the rubble” and with out entry to schooling.
“Some 300,000 of them were enrolled in nearly 290 UNRWA schools before the war but those who are now out of school “are at risk of violence and exploitation, child labour, early marriage, and recruitment by armed groups”, the UNRWA chief insisted.
“Without decisive intervention to resume education, we will condemn an entire generation to poverty and sow the seeds of hatred, resentment, and future conflict.”
West Bank chaos
While Gazans repeatedly displaced by the warfare “are clinging to life”, the UNRWA chief issued an equally bleak evaluation of the state of affairs in the occupied West Bank, the place some 500 Palestinians have been killed since October.
“Daily attacks by Israeli settlers, military incursions, and the destruction of homes and critical infrastructure are part of a well-oiled system of segregation and oppression,” the Commissioner-General stated.
Lebanon alert
Intensifying clashes on the Israel-Lebanon border additionally threaten a “full-blown war”, Mr. Lazzarini continued, as he pointed to tens of millions of “anxious and afraid” Palestine refugees in the occupied Palestinian territory, Lebanon, Syria and Jordan watching occasions in Gaza and the West Bank unfold.
“Most have been living in camps for generations, often with limited rights and in grinding poverty, waiting for a political solution that will bring an end to their plight. Today, they are witnessing the greatest Palestinian tragedy since the Nakba,” he stated, in reference to the 1948 occasions that led to the uprooting of some 750,000 Palestinians from their houses.
“As they have done for 75 years, they are looking to UNRWA for protection and the fulfillment of basic human rights.”
In an attraction for help to scale up UNRWA’s help to Palestine refugees, Mr. Lazzarini raised the likelihood of the agency not being operational “beyond August”.
This trusted UNRWA receiving each deliberate monetary donations and new contributions, he defined, including that $1.2 billion was wanted to cowl vital humanitarian wants till the top of the yr. To date, the attraction is simply 18 per cent funded.
