The UN said Friday that uninterrupted aid was needed in Gaza following nearly three weeks of Israeli shelling in retribution for Hamas strikes this month, which prompted a humanitarian crisis in the besieged Palestinian territory.
The UN Agency for Palestinian Refugees’ commissioner general, Philippe Lazzarini, stated 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 media at a press conference.
The commissioner also stated that 57 members of the agency’s staff were killed during the war.
“At least 57 colleagues of mine are confirmed killed”, Lazzarini continued.
Lazzarini went on to say, “Wonderful people who have just dedicated their lives to their communities”.
Lazzarini also chimed in on a controversy over the civilian death toll provided by the territory’s Hamas-run health ministry, claiming their estimates had proven credible in 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”, Lazzarini added.
According to Israeli officials, on October 7, crowds of Hamas gunmen flooded into Israel, killing 1,400 people, mostly civilians, and capturing 224 more.
As per numbers released by the Hamas-controlled health ministry, at least 7,028 individuals have been killed in Gaza as a result of retaliatory Israeli air and artillery strikes, including 2,913 children.
The number of deaths in Gaza is at its highest since Israel unilaterally withdrew from the Palestinian territory in 2005.
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