Lifting of Israeli blockade ‘the only way to avert mass starvation’ in Gaza: UNRWA chief

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 events

The 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.