Latest news with #Lazzarini
Indian Express
a day ago
- Health
- Indian Express
‘Hell on earth': 33 die of hunger in Gaza in 48 hours, UN says its staff also at risk
At least 33 people, most of them children, have died from malnutrition in Gaza in just the past 48 hours, the Hamas-run health ministry said on Tuesday, as aid access remains critically limited. The total number of deaths from malnutrition since the Israel-Gaza war began in October 2023 now stands at 101, with 80 of them being children. The head of the UN's Palestinian Refugee Agency (UNRWA), Philippe Lazzarini, said that even aid workers are now collapsing from hunger and exhaustion. 'Caretakers, including UNRWA colleagues in Gaza, are also in need of care now,' Lazzarini said in a statement shared at a Geneva press briefing. 'Doctors, nurses, journalists, humanitarians, among them, UNRWA staff are hungry. Many are now fainting due to hunger and exhaustion while performing their duties.' Describing the situation as 'hell on earth,' Lazzarini said that 'nowhere is safe' in the besieged Palestinian territory. UNRWA estimates that 1,000 starving people have been killed while seeking food aid since the end of May, many of them gunned down or crushed in stampedes as they tried to reach supply trucks. After ceasefire talks collapsed, Israel imposed a complete blockade on Gaza on March 2, cutting off all food and aid deliveries. Limited trucks were allowed in only from late May, and that too at a trickle. In a post on X earlier this week, UNRWA said that aid already stockpiled in warehouses outside Gaza could feed 'the entire population for over three months,' but has not been allowed in. The agency also said food prices inside Gaza have spiked by up to 40 times. Israel has repeatedly claimed it is allowing humanitarian aid into Gaza and blames Hamas for obstructing distribution, a claim disputed by aid organisations on the ground.
Daily Maverick
a day ago
- Health
- Daily Maverick
UN Palestinian refugee staff and doctors fainting from hunger in Gaza, says UNRWA
UNRWA said it had received dozens of emergency messages from its staff describing grave conditions and exhaustion in the enclave, where Israel has been fighting a war against Hamas since October, 2023. 'No one is spared: caretakers in Gaza are also in need of care. Doctors, nurses, journalists and humanitarians are hungry,' UNRWA commissioner General Philippe Lazzarini said in a statement, shared by his spokesperson at a press briefing in Geneva. 'Many are now fainting due to hunger and exhaustion while performing their duties: reporting atrocities or alleviating some of the suffering.' Lazzarini also criticised a U.S.-backed aid distribution scheme run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation that has been supplying aid since late May, when Israel, which controls supplies into Gaza, lifted an 11-week blockade. 'The so called 'GHF' distribution scheme is a sadistic death trap. Snipers open fire randomly on crowds as if they are given a licence to kill,' Lazzarini said. The GHF uses private U.S. security and logistics companies and largely bypasses a U.N.-led system, that Israel alleges has let Hamas-led militants loot aid shipments intended for civilians. Hamas denies the allegation. More than 1,000 people have been reported killed while trying to receive food aid since the end of May, according to UNRWA estimates, Lazzarini said. The U.N. said on July 15 it had recorded at least 875 killings within the past six weeks at aid points in Gaza run by the GHF and convoys run by other relief groups. The majority of those killed were in the vicinity of GHF sites, while the remaining 201 were killed on the routes of other aid convoys. The Israeli Foreign Ministry, GHF and COGAT, the Israeli military aid coordination agency, were not immediately available for comment. GHF has previously told Reuters that such incidents have not occurred on its sites and accused the U.N. of misinformation, which it denies.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Health
- Yahoo
UN Palestinian refugee staff and doctors fainting from hunger in Gaza, says UNRWA
By Olivia Le Poidevin GENEVA (Reuters) -The head of the U.N. Palestinian Refugee Agency said on Tuesday that its staff, as well as doctors and humanitarian workers, were fainting on duty in Gaza due to hunger and exhaustion. UNRWA said it had received dozens of emergency messages from its staff describing grave conditions and exhaustion in the enclave, where Israel has been fighting a war against Hamas since October, 2023. "No one is spared: caretakers in Gaza are also in need of care. Doctors, nurses, journalists and humanitarians are hungry," UNRWA commissioner General Philippe Lazzarini said in a statement, shared by his spokesperson at a press briefing in Geneva. "Many are now fainting due to hunger and exhaustion while performing their duties: reporting atrocities or alleviating some of the suffering." Lazzarini also criticised a U.S.-backed aid distribution scheme run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation that has been supplying aid since late May, when Israel, which controls supplies into Gaza, lifted an 11-week blockade. "The so called 'GHF' distribution scheme is a sadistic death trap. Snipers open fire randomly on crowds as if they are given a licence to kill," Lazzarini said. The GHF uses private U.S. security and logistics companies and largely bypasses a U.N.-led system, that Israel alleges has let Hamas-led militants loot aid shipments intended for civilians. Hamas denies the allegation. More than 1,000 people have been reported killed while trying to receive food aid since the end of May, according to UNRWA estimates, Lazzarini said. The U.N. said on July 15 it had recorded at least 875 killings within the past six weeks at aid points in Gaza run by the GHF and convoys run by other relief groups. The majority of those killed were in the vicinity of GHF sites, while the remaining 201 were killed on the routes of other aid convoys. The Israeli Foreign Ministry, GHF and COGAT, the Israeli military aid coordination agency, were not immediately available for comment. GHF has previously told Reuters that such incidents have not occurred on its sites and accused the U.N. of misinformation, which it denies. Solve the daily Crossword
Straits Times
a day ago
- Health
- Straits Times
UN Palestinian refugee staff and doctors fainting from hunger in Gaza, says UNRWA
FILE PHOTO: A man carries a sack as Palestinians gather to receive aid provided by UNRWA including food supplies, after Israel says it has ceased entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza, outside a distribution center, at Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza Strip, March 2, 2025. REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa/File Photo GENEVA - The head of the U.N. Palestinian Refugee Agency said on Tuesday that its staff, as well as doctors and humanitarian workers, were fainting on duty in Gaza due to hunger and exhaustion. UNRWA said it had received dozens of emergency messages from its staff describing grave conditions and exhaustion in the enclave, where Israel has been fighting a war against Hamas since October, 2023. "No one is spared: caretakers in Gaza are also in need of care. Doctors, nurses, journalists and humanitarians are hungry," UNRWA commissioner General Philippe Lazzarini said in a statement, shared by his spokesperson at a press briefing in Geneva. "Many are now fainting due to hunger and exhaustion while performing their duties: reporting atrocities or alleviating some of the suffering." Lazzarini also criticised a U.S.-backed aid distribution scheme run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation that has been supplying aid since late May, when Israel, which controls supplies into Gaza, lifted an 11-week blockade. "The so called 'GHF' distribution scheme is a sadistic death trap. Snipers open fire randomly on crowds as if they are given a licence to kill," Lazzarini said. The GHF uses private U.S. security and logistics companies and largely bypasses a U.N.-led system, that Israel alleges has let Hamas-led militants loot aid shipments intended for civilians. Hamas denies the allegation. More than 1,000 people have been reported killed while trying to receive food aid since the end of May, according to UNRWA estimates, Lazzarini said. The U.N. said on July 15 it had recorded at least 875 killings within the past six weeks at aid points in Gaza run by the GHF and convoys run by other relief groups. The majority of those killed were in the vicinity of GHF sites, while the remaining 201 were killed on the routes of other aid convoys. The Israeli Foreign Ministry, GHF and COGAT, the Israeli military aid coordination agency, were not immediately available for comment. GHF has previously told Reuters that such incidents have not occurred on its sites and accused the U.N. of misinformation, which it denies. REUTERS
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First Post
a day ago
- Health
- First Post
‘Hell on Earth': Battling hunger, Gaza doctors faint; UN warns of catastrophe amid Israeli attacks
The UNRWA has estimated that at least 1,000 Palestinians have been killed seeking aid in Gaza since the end of May. It added that food prices have increased by 40 times in Gaza due to acute shortage of supplies read more A Palestinian woman comforts a child as casualties are brought into Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital following an Israeli strike, in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip, July 10, 2025. REUTERS The UN on Tuesday said that its staff members, including doctors and aid workers in Gaza, are fainting on duty due to a lack of food supply, which is leading to hunger and extreme exhaustion among workers. The UN Palestinian Refugee Agency Chief Philippe Lazzarini said, 'Caretakers, including UNRWA colleagues in Gaza, are also in need of care now, doctors, nurses, journalists, humanitarians, among them, UNRWA staff are hungry. Many are now fainting due to hunger and exhaustion while performing their duties.' STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD During a press briefing in Geneva, Lazzarini described the situation in Gaza as 'hell on earth', adding that nowhere is safe as Israel continues to bomb areas near food distribution centres. The UNRWA has estimated that at least 1,000 Palestinians have been killed seeking aid in Gaza since the end of May. It added that food prices have increased by 40 times in Gaza due to acute shortage of supplies. WHO says its facilities The World Health Organisation said Monday its facilities in Gaza had come under Israeli attack, echoing calls from Western countries for an immediate ceasefire as Israel expanded military operations to the central city of Deir el-Balah. WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the Israeli military had entered the UN agency's staff residence, forced women and children to evacuate on foot, and handcuffed, stripped and interrogated male staff at gunpoint. After more than 21 months of fighting that have triggered catastrophic humanitarian conditions for Gaza's more than two million people, Israeli allies Britain, France, Australia, Canada and 21 other countries, plus the EU, said in a joint statement that the war 'must end now'. 'The suffering of civilians in Gaza has reached new depths,' the signatories added, urging a negotiated ceasefire, the release of hostages held by Palestinian militants and the free flow of much-needed aid. Tedros, who also condemned an attack on the WHO's main warehouse in Deir el-Balah, echoed that call: 'A ceasefire is not just necessary, it is overdue,' he said on X. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD With inputs from agencies
