UNRWA Says Israel's Strict Blockade Pushes Gaza Closer To The Crisis Of Acute Hunger

JAKARTA - Israel's tight blockade to humanitarian supplies has pushed Gaza closer to an acute hunger crisis, head of the UN Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) Philippe Lazzarini said on Sunday.

Lazzarini made the remarks in a social media post, in which he noted that the siege, which prevents food, medicine, water, and fuel from entering the occupied Palestinian territories, has lasted longer than the blockade imposed during the first phase of the war.

The head of UNRWA pointed out that people in Gaza depend on imports through Israel to survive.

"Every day that passes without the entry of aid means more children sleep in hunger, disease spread, and deficiencies get worse," he tweeted, quoted from WAFA March 24.

Gaza, he added, is getting closer to an acute hunger crisis.

After a brief ceasefire, the bombing campaign and ground operations against Gaza have resumed. Since then, hundreds of civilians, including children, have been killed.

Earlier, Acting UNRWA Director of UNRWA Sam Rose in the enclave warned on Friday that if the ceasefire was not restored, it would lead to "mass-scale loss of life, infrastructure and property damage, increased risk of infectious disease, and major trauma for one million children and two million civilians living in Gaza."

Calling the ban on aid a "collective punishment" to Gaza's population, most of whom were children, women, and ordinary men, Lazzarini called for the siege to be lifted and humanitarian aid and commercial supplies brought to Gaza without interruption and on a large scale.