The Clock is Ticking Towards Famine in Gaza

The head of the UNRWA has stressed that the clock is ticking towards famine and that people in Gaza are dying.

News ID: 86173

Date: 18 May 2025 - 09:28

TEHRAN (Defapress) - As reported by Al Jazeera, Philippe Lazzarini, the head of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), stated: "Currently, our aid to Gaza is stockpiled at the crossings. If this situation continues, food will spoil, and medicines will expire."

He emphasized: "Lift the blockade, open the crossings, and let us do our work."

The UNRWA commissioner-general stressed: "Do not revert to the past. Introducing new programs diverts attention from the catastrophe and wastes resources."

Lazzarini added: "The humanitarian community in Gaza is ready and experienced to assist those in need."

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) previously warned in a statement that children in Gaza are not only dying from bombings but also from starvation, lack of medical care, and disease outbreaks due to the absence of clean water—while humanitarian aid remains unable to reach the area.

The statement read: "We express grave concern over the rising number of child casualties in Gaza, with more than 45 children martyred in just the past 2 days."

It added: "The number of children killed in Gaza over the past two months has reached 950."

UNICEF continued: "Conditions in Gaza are catastrophic by any measure. Children remain trapped under severe siege, while attacks on residential areas and displacement camps persist."

The statement further noted: "Children’s rights are being blatantly violated daily, as they endure relentless violence, forced displacement, and deprivation of basic life necessities."

UNICEF concluded: "The continuation of this situation means an entire generation is at risk of losing security, health, education—and even hope."