The Commissioner-General of UNRWA called for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, the terror group that governs the Gaza Strip, saying «millions» of lives are at risk.
The head of a United Nations agency said during an emergency meeting Monday that «an immediate humanitarian ceasefire has become a matter of life and death for millions.»
Philippe Lazzarini, the Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), warned against additional fighting in Gaza, where Israeli forces are launching a ground invasion to eliminate Hamas, which governs the territory.
Lazzarini warned Israel against the «collective punishment» of Palestinians and said a further breakdown of civil order following the looting of the agency’s warehouses by Palestinians searching for food and other aid «will make it extremely difficult, if not impossible, for the largest U.N. agency in Gaza to continue operating.»
Lazzarini, flanked by the head of the U.N. children’s agency UNICEF and a senior U.N. humanitarian official, provided briefings to the Security Council, where the officials painted a dire picture of the humanitarian situation in Gaza after more than a million people have been displaced. The meeting comes 23 days after Hamas’ surprise Oct. 7 attacks in Israel that killed over 1,400 people.
According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, which is run by Hamas, more than 8,300 civilians have been killed and tens of thousands have been injured since Israel launched retaliatory military action aimed at «obliterating» Hamas.
UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell said the death toll includes more than 3,400 children, adding that over 6,300 have been injured.
«This means that more than 420 children are being killed or injured in Gaza each day — a number which should shake each of us to our core,» she said.
