Israel says no more UNRWA food convoys to north Gaza: Lazzarini

The head of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) says Israel informed the UN that it will no longer approve any aid convoys run by the agency. “This is outrageous [and] makes it intentional to obstruct lifesaving assistance during a man made famine. These restrictions must be lifted”, Philippe Lazzarini wrote in an X post. He warned that the move will speed up the coming of famine in the north of the Gaza Strip, and said that “many more will die of hunger, dehydration”. Famine is likely to occur by May in northern Gaza and could spread across the enclave by July, the world’s hunger watchdog, known as the Integrated Food-Security Phase Classification (IPC), said last week. The IPC said 70 percent of people in parts of northern Gaza were suffering the most severe level of food shortage, more than triple the 20 percent threshold to be considered famine. In all, 1.1 million Palestinians in Gaza, about half the population, were experiencing “catastrophic” shortages of food. The head of the World Health Organization (WHO) says Israel must “urgently reverse” its decision to block the entry of food convoys organised by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) into northern Gaza, where humanitarian needs are most urgent. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus wrote in a post on X that this decision will lead to the deaths of more starving Palestinians in the northern part of the enclave. “The levels of hunger are acute. All efforts to deliver food should not only be permitted, but there should be an immediate acceleration of food deliveries,” he said. Sam Rose is the Director of Planning at the agency. He says Israel’s decision is a death sentence for Palestinians. Subscribe to our channel: Follow us on Twitter: Find us on Facebook: Check our website: Check out our Instagram page: Download AJE Mobile App: #UnitedNations #UNRWA #Palestine #Gaza #Israel #PhilippeLazzarini #UN #WHO #WorldHealthOrganization #IsraelHamasWar #GazaWar #IsraelWar #IsraelPalestineWar #IsraelHamasWar #IsraelGazaWar #GazaUnderAttack #GazaGenocide