‘Gaza Is Running Out Of Life’ – UN Agency Chief

The largest UN Agency in the Gaza Strip is on the verge of collapse, its Chief Commissioner has said.

The Gaza-based staff of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, or UNRWA, have relocated to Rafah near the border with Egypt, and are working out of the same building as “thousands of desperate displaced people”, said Philippe Lazzarini, Commissioner-General of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East.

“Gaza is being strangled and it seems that the world right now has lost its humanity,” he said in a stark speech from the Agency’s Headquarters in East Jerusalem.

“If we look at the issue of water, we all know water is life, Gaza is running out of water, and Gaza is running out of life.

Soon, I believe, with this there will be no food or medicine either,” Lazzarini said, calling the siege in Gaza as “nothing else than collective punishment”.

“Before it is too late, the siege must be lifted and aid agencies must be able to safely bring in essential supplies such as fuel, water, food and medicine. And we need this now,” he added.

BBC