Amid disputed reports of Israeli forces firing on civilians near a new privatised aid distribution point in southern Gaza, the head of the Palestine refugee agency, UNRWA, said on Sunday that lifting the months-long aid blockade of the enclave is the only way to avoid “mass starvation”.Philippe Lazzarini posted on social media saying that aid distribution “has become a death trap,” citing reports from international medical staff on the ground and local health authorities who reported at least 31 deaths and more than 150 injured as civilians were lining up to receive aid from the Israel and United States-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation – which bypasses existing aid agencies.‘Humiliating system’“A distribution point by the Israeli-American plan was put far south in Rafah,” Mr. Lazzarini said on X.“This humiliating system has forced thousands of hungry and desperate people to walk for tens of miles to an area that’s all but pulverized due to heavy bombardment by the Israeli army.”He said aid delivery and distribution “must be at scale and safe. In Gaza, this can be done only through the United Nations including UNRWA.”Gaza's defence agency said Israeli forces had been responsible for the gunfire. The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation – which uses private contractors and involves Israel Defense Forces (IDF) to secure its sites – has strongly denied that civilians were fired on, accusing Hamas militants of misinformation.Disputed eventsThe IDF said on social media that reports of them firing towards residents receiving aid from the foundation were false: “Findings from an initial inquiry indicate that the IDF did not fire at civilians while they were near or within the humanitarian aid distribution site.”The IDF posted video which it said showed gunmen shooting at civilians collecting aid, adding that “Hamas is doing everything in its power to prevent the successful distribution of food in Gaza.”Medical staff at Nasser hospital in nearby Khan Younis told media outlets that around 79 people were admitted on Sunday, mostly with gunshot wounds, along with the bodies of some of those killed. Journalists on the scene posted video footage of bodies being carried on carts along with wounded arrivals.‘Lift the siege’UNRWA chief Lazzarini called on Israel to lift the three-month old aid blockade and allow safe and unhindered access. “This is the only way to avert mass starvation including among one million children.”Highlighting the difficulties of clearly establishing facts on the ground due to Israel’s ban on international media from entering the Gaza Strip, the UNRWA chief said that amid competing narratives and “disinformation campaigns in full gear,” the ban on eyewitness reporting must be lifted immediately., filtered_html

Said Zeenat, a young Palestinian woman speaking to UN News from the battered Gaza Strip.Zeenat and her husband, Moamen Abu Asr, live with their children in a flimsy canvas tent, one of thousands that now line Gaza’s coastline. Once a place of rest and leisure, the beach has become a last refuge for Palestinians displaced by relentless Israeli bombardment and military operations.As displacement orders push people into ever smaller pockets of land, the strip of coast around Gaza’s seaport has turned into a makeshift camp. Its frayed tents and overcrowded conditions reflect the gravity of a humanitarian crisis that has plunged to unprecedented depths after more than 600 days of conflict between Israeli forces and Hamas.The seaport, once a centre of Gaza’s fishing economy, is now a wasteland. All the boats have been destroyed, and in their place stands a sprawling encampment – a harsh and barren environment with almost none of the basic necessities for survival.A family with nothing leftMoamen and his family have been living in the camp for around two months, surviving in a tent cobbled together from salvaged mats and broken utensils recovered from nearby rubble.He sits outside with his children, scrolling through pictures on his phone – fragments of a past life left behind in Shujaiya, east of Gaza City, when residents were ordered to evacuate without warning.“There have been times when we’ve been displaced once every two months,” he told UN News. “Every day is suffering for us. We came to Gaza port with no food, no water – not even our iron tent.”“There is nothing of life’s basics for us,” he said. To feed his family, Moamen repairs small water tanks for five shekels – about $1.43 – barely enough for anything in a place where prices have soared. “One kilo of flour is a hundred shekels [around $28.60],” he explained. “Our situation is very difficult, and we do not know what to do. By God, this is not life. We would rather die.”‘We live on water’The humanitarian situation has worsened since March, when Israeli authorities imposed a complete blockade on aid. Though this was slightly eased in recent weeks, the limited trickle of supplies cannot meet the overwhelming demand. Desperate civilians, starving and fearful, have resorted to looting whatever aid does arrive.In their tent, Zeenat washes a few cooking utensils – all she could find in the communal makeshift kitchen. Most days, there is no food to prepare.“Yesterday I cried a lot about my son,” she said. “He told me, ‘Mum, I want to eat.’ I stood helpless, not knowing what to do. The food didn’t come from the charity kitchen. We now live on fresh water. I recommend it to my children to help fill their stomachs. Today, thank God, we got a plate of food and ate it.”‘Enough is enough’Conditions in the tent are dire. Flies swarm everywhere, and stray dogs – thin and hungry – prowl nearby. “Yesterday, a dog came into the tent and was pulling on a tarpaulin while my son was sleeping. I thought it was pulling my baby. I screamed and my husband kicked the dog out.”“We don’t know where to go or what to do. They uprooted us. Our hearts are extinguished. We can’t be patient anymore. Our patience has run out.”The tents scattered along Gaza’s coastline are a stark symbol of the deepening humanitarian tragedy. The cries of hunger are louder than any voice of hope. There is no shelter left – only the sea remains.Nothing encapsulates the despair more than Zeenat’s final plea: “Let the war end. Give us a break. Otherwise, let all countries come together and drop a nuclear bomb on us and end our misery, because we are tired of this life. Enough is enough.”
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Gaza’s population is being “starved and denied the very basics,” while the region stands at a dangerous crossroads, the UN’s Middle East peace envoy warned the Security Council Wednesday, urging immediate action to halt the violence, restore aid and advance a two-State solution before time runs out.Sigrid Kaag, interim UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, said that the man-made crisis unfolding in Gaza has plunged civilians into “an abyss.”“Since the collapse of the ceasefire in March, civilians have constantly come under fire, confined to ever-shrinking spaces, and deprived of lifesaving relief,” she said.“Israel must halt its devastating strikes on civilian life and infrastructure.”Risk of famineWith families cut off from aid for weeks on end, and only a fraction of the needed relief now entering the enclave, starvation looms.“The entire population of Gaza is facing the risk of famine,” Ms. Kaag warned, adding that the limited aid permitted into the enclave is “comparable to a lifeboat after the ship has sunk.”"Ms. Kaag emphasized that humanitarian aid must not depend on political negotiations, noting that the UN aid operation is prepared to deliver assistance immediately, in accordance with international law.“Aid cannot be negotiable,” she said.Full aid access imperativeMs. Kaag called on Israel to halt its devastating strikes and allow full access for humanitarian aid and commercial goods.At the same time, she stressed that Israel has the right to live in peace and security.“This was undeniably shaken by the horrific terror attacks and taking of hostages on 7 October by Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups,” she said, reiterating the call on Hamas and other armed groups to stop rocket attacks against Israel and release all hostages unconditionally.Two-State solutionMs. Kaag emphasised that durable security “cannot be achieved solely through force”, it must be built on mutual recognition, justice, and rights for all.“A better path exists that resolves this conflict, de-escalates regional tensions and achieves a shared vision for peace,” she said.The upcoming high-level international conference in June, co-chaired by France and Saudi Arabia, presents a critical opportunity to relaunch a path toward ending the occupation and realising the two-State solution based on international law, UN resolutions and previous agreements.“It must not be another rhetorical exercise,” she said.“We need to pivot ourselves from declarations to decisions. We need to implement rather than adopt new texts.”‘See you in heaven’In her briefing, Ms. Kaag described the deep despair of civilians in Gaza, where families now bid farewell not with a “goodbye, see you tomorrow”, but with the words “see you in heaven.”“Death is their companion. It’s not life, it’s not hope,” she continued, stressing that Gazans deserve more than survival – they deserve a future.Urging bold political action, she called for adherence to international law, and support for a reformed Palestinian Government that can govern both Gaza and the West Bank.“Statehood is a right, not a reward,” Ms. Kaag said.“Let us not be remembered as the generation that let the two-State solution disappear. Let us be the generation that chose courage over caution, justice over inertia and peace over politics. Let us be part of a generation that can make this happen.”Operating without anaesthesia: Volunteer surgeonFollowing Ms. Kaag's remarks, an American surgeon who volunteered in Gaza twice since 7 October 2023 told Council ambassadors that he had to work in hospitals without critical medical supplies, electricity or anaesthesia.“The children died, not because their injuries were insurmountable, but because we lacked blood, antibiotics, and the most basic supplies readily available in any major hospital in the world,” Feroze Sidhwa said.“During the five weeks I spent in Gaza, I didn't see or treat a single combatant. My patients were six-year-old children with shrapnel in their hearts and bullets in their brains, pregnant women with shattered pelvises and foetuses split in two in the womb,” he added., filtered_html

The UN already has a proven system to deliver assistance to people in Gaza and will not take part in any plan that does not uphold universally established humanitarian principles, a spokesperson for aid coordination office OCHA affirmed. “There's been so much time wasted talking about the various proposals and the various plans. In the meantime, people are dying and are left without aid,” Olga Cherevko said in an exclusive interview with UN News.This week, UN agencies were able to bring limited amounts of food, flour and other items into Gaza after Israel lifted a nearly three-month aid blockade. Ms. Cherevko said humanitarians were told this was a temporary measure until aid distribution is implemented through the so-called Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, an initiative backed by Israel and the United States.  The plan sees aid dispersed from four points south of the Netzarim Corridor, which is under Israeli military control, and involves the use of private US contractors. She discussed this development, the positive impact of the trickle of aid allowed into Gaza, and the need to scale up efforts.“There is a sense that some people feel like this is the end and that there is no turning back – and that they are just waiting to die,” she said.This interview has been edited for length and clarityOlga Cherevko: We've been speaking about this and other proposals and plans. Our concerns are that any distribution of aid, any system that exists, needs to be in line with globally established humanitarian principles. And if it isn’t, it’s not something that we can be involved in.We have concerns about the scalability of this proposed plan, and about various other parts of it. The biggest issue is that we have a plan, and we have a system that we are using as we speak, and the system has been tried over various crises across the world. It has been proven to work, it has mechanisms to mitigate theft, to mitigate diversion and it ensures that it reaches people wherever they are. So, there’s been so much time wasted talking about the various proposals and the various plans. In the meantime, people are dying and are left without aid. UN News: The UN definitely will not be taking part in this plan, but did you receive any indications that you will be able to proceed with the work that you’ve been doing over the past couple of days?Olga Cherevko: For the time being it’s unclear because obviously the resumption of limited volumes of aid entering that the Israeli authorities have approved as of a few days ago, we were obviously assured that we would be using our mechanisms - so the ones that were using now, the ones that are already in place. We were informed that this would be an interim measure until this Foundation starts working.  At this point, we really don’t have more details and again, it will have to be seen on the ground how things will develop.UN News: Were any trucks allowed in today and was more aid distributed? Olga Cherevko: There have been batches of trucks coming in since this decision to allow them was approved. We have already been able to get some of the aid to the people in need, including getting flour to bakeries, and a number of bakeries have resumed their operations and fired up their ovens. We also had some partners who picked up the bread for direct distribution. A field hospital also received a batch of medical supplies. These are obviously very positive steps and positive developments in the right direction, but the volume of this aid is literally a drop in the ocean compared to the extent of needs on the ground. UN News: We heard that most, if not all, of the supplies that were allowed in yesterday were nutritional and food aid.  Is this a new development that some medical supplies were allowed in today? How many people can be served with these food items and medical supplies?Olga Cherevko: The medical supplies were always part of the agreement to be included. But again, this is something that in itself is limiting because at the moment what is being allowed is things like nutrition, flour, some medicines and a few other things. It has to be a full range of things for us to be able to really deliver assistance at scale.In terms of how many people it will serve, you can compare the kind of volumes that we were having during the ceasefire to what we have now and you will see that it's woefully insufficient. But we have enough food alone to feed people for several months waiting at the crossings.UN News: The World Food Programme (WFP) said 15 of its trucks were looted. Can you tell us what’s being done to prevent looting?Olga Cherevko: Regarding looting and break-ins or whatever to try to divert or take aid - if you look at the numbers of these kinds of incidents before the ceasefire and during the ceasefire you will see a huge change.  There were barely any such incidents during the weeks of the ceasefire when we were able to bring in these large volumes (of aid). When the ceasefire broke down and the crossings were closed for the entry of any cargo, and we got to the point where we were really in a desperate situation and we were running low on everything, that is when they started again. UN News: Let’s go back to the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. As the four distribution points are going to be south of the Netzarim Corridor – reportedly one in Middle Gaza and the others in the south – are you already starting to see movements towards those areas? What are your concerns about displacement?Olga Cherevko: Our concerns about displacement are what they have always been. Obviously, we would never support any sort of forced displacement, or any type of ethnic cleansing, or anything that would forcibly drive people from the areas where they are.Before the ceasefire, more than 90 per cent of people were forcibly displaced across Gaza and they were being squeezed into an increasingly smaller piece of land. When the ceasefire happened a lot of them went back. They tried to restart their lives and they kind of had a bit of time to process what’s been happening. When the ceasefire broke down again on 18 March, we saw another 610,000 people displaced again.  These types of displacement are getting more and more dangerous and desperate because people are coming with nothing. People are fleeing with just the shirt on their back.We're now hearing and seeing people sleeping in the streets because there’s nowhere for them to go. As we've said time and time again, there is no safe place in Gaza, and this has been proven time and time again. UN News: You’ve been back and forth to Gaza for quite some time now, and you've seen the suffering first-hand. Can you give our audience an idea of what it means in real-life terms when aid is prevented from reaching those in need?Olga Cherevko:  Something that has always stuck me about the Palestinians in Gaza is their resilience and their strength, and the spirit that they have kept throughout these months of war. I knew Gaza well before because I used to work there for several years starting from 2014, and knowing how people have endured so much suffering and despite that they find the strength to go, they find the strength to smile at you and to offer you tea or anything that they might still have. Now when I speak to people, the thing that is most devastating is that there is a sense that some people feel like this is the end and that there is no turning back and that they are just waiting to die.Before this limited aid was allowed to enter, the remaining operating community kitchens would have hundreds of people huddled around them waiting for hours with empty pots.  Many were told to turn back because there's no food for them. People were telling me that they weren't eating for several days at a time. I saw children that are being malnourished, and suffering from malnutrition. These kinds of things are very preventable, and preventable deaths are happening all around us because of this intentional crisis imposed on Gaza by closing the crossings. And that is the most frustrating thing for me - knowing that we can quickly address these issues if only we were given the opportunity – because we have everything waiting outside of Gaza to come in. , filtered_html