UN agency says ‘meaningful and uninterrupted’ aid needed for Gaza

JERUSALEM: The United Nations said Friday that “uninterrupted” aid was needed in Gaza after nearly three weeks of Israeli bombardment in retaliation for Hamas group attacks this month that has triggered a humanitarian crisis in the besieged Palestinian territory.

Philippe Lazzarini, commissioner general for UN agency for Palestinian refugees, said “meaningful and uninterrupted” aid was needed for the Gaza Strip, calling the trickle of aid entering the area “crumbs”.

“The current system in place is geared to fail. What is needed is meaningful and uninterrupted aid flow. And to succeed, we need a humanitarian ceasefire to ensure this aid reaches those in need,” Lazzarini told reporters in Jerusalem during a press conference.

The commissioner also confirmed that 57 of the agency’s staff had been killed during the war.

“At least 57 colleagues of mine are confirmed killed,” said Lazzarini.

“Wonderful people who have just dedicated their lives to their communities.”

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Lazzarini also weighed in on a controversy over the civilian death toll given by the Hamas-run health ministry in the territory, saying their figures had proven credible during past conflicts.

“In the past, the five, six cycles of conflict in the Gaza Strip, these figures were considered as credible and no-one ever really challenged these figures,” he told reporters.

On October 7, throngs of Hamas gunmen poured from Gaza into Israel, killing 1,400 people, mostly civilians, and kidnapping 224 more, according to Israeli officials.

In Israeli air and artillery strikes, at least 7,028 people have been killed in the Gaza Strip, including 2,913 children, according to figures released by the Hamas-controlled health ministry.

The fatalities in Gaza are the highest there since Israel unilaterally withdrew from the Palestinian territory in 2005.