GAZA – The head of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) has issued a scathing condemnation of the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, calling it “a graveyard of children and starving people” following the deaths of Palestinians near food distribution sites.
Philippe Lazzarini, UNRWA Commissioner-General, expressed his outrage on Friday after Israeli forces killed 15 civilians — including nine children and four women — who were waiting in line for nutritional supplements in Deir el-Balah, central Gaza.
“People in Gaza have no way out,” Lazzarini wrote on X (formerly Twitter). “Their choice is between two deaths: starvation or being shot at.”
The statement followed another deadly day in the war-ravaged enclave. Medical sources confirmed 45 deaths on Thursday alone, including 11 people killed near an aid centre in Rafah operated by the Global Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), a controversial organization backed by the US and Israel.
The GHF has largely replaced the UN’s traditional aid delivery mechanisms since it began operations in May, following Israel’s partial easing of a two-month total blockade on Gaza. However, the foundation’s methods and safety protocols have come under scrutiny amid rising casualties.
According to the UN, at least 819 Palestinians have been killed while seeking food since GHF became operational. Of those, 634 died near GHF-run sites — only four of which are operational in the entire Strip — and another 185 were killed near other humanitarian convoys, including some operated by UN agencies.
The UN human rights office also reported 798 deaths at aid points between May and July 7.
Separate investigations by Israeli outlet Haaretz and the Associated Press have revealed that Israeli soldiers and US private contractors working with GHF admitted to opening fire on unarmed Palestinians gathered near aid hubs.
The growing number of fatalities has raised urgent questions about the safety and neutrality of aid distribution in Gaza, further deepening international concern over the dire humanitarian conditions faced by civilians trapped in the conflict.
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