UNRWA chief begs for ceasefire

Lazzarini: deep sadness and suffering have become a daily reality for millions of Palestinians

Two years after the outbreak of war on Gaza, Philippe Lazzarini, Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), described what Gaza is experiencing as:

an extended nightmare of destruction, displacement, bombing, fear, death and hunger.

He called for an immediate ceasefire and the full and unconditional introduction of humanitarian aid, and added:

Sadness, suffering, and deep pain have become a daily reality for millions of people since October 7, 2023. In Gaza, for two years, people have known nothing but devastation, deprivation, and constant fear.

Palestine ‘beyond the limits of a humanitarian catastrophe’

The UN official also renewed his call for the release of all Palestinian hostages and detainees, stressing that the continuing cycle of violence and deprivation “pushed the population to the brink of annihilation.
He added:

There is no way out of this hell except to silence guns, everywhere, and return the voice of humanity to this earth.

Lazzarini also called on the international community to ensure the unrestricted flow of essential humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip. Importantly, he explained that this had to happen through UNRWA, noting that hunger, disease, and the collapse of public services have made life in the Strip:

beyond the limits of a humanitarian catastrophe.

He stressed the need for accountability and justice for crimes and violations committed since the beginning of the war, saying that:

justice is the only path towards any possible peace.

Lazzarini’s statements come at a time when Gaza is plunged into one of the worst humanitarian crises in modern history, with more than two million people living under siege amid almost complete destruction of infrastructure, continuous power outages, and severe scarcity of food, water and medicine. Lazzarini concluded: