UNRWA chief warns of ‘real risk’ of Gaza famine

The head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees warned Wednesday of the risk of famine in Gaza, a day after the United States said Israel had been warned to improve aid deliveries to the territory.

UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini told a press conference in Berlin that "there is a real risk today... that we enter a situation where famine or acute malnutrition is unfortunately again a likelihood," pointing to the upcoming winter and the weakened immune systems of Gaza's population.

Vast areas of Gaza have been devastated by Israel's retaliatory assault on the territory after the October 7 attack last year by Hamas.

Israel has been intensifying operations in the north of the besieged Palestinian territory, where the UN has warned hundreds of thousands of people are trapped.

Philippe Lazzarini attends a meeting. File photo

Lazzarini painted a dire picture of the humanitarian situation in Gaza, saying it had "become a kind of wasteland, which I would say is almost unliveable".

In relation to aid deliveries to Gaza he said that "over the last two to three weeks there was no convoy entering into the north except yesterday".

"We have a huge drop of convoys in the south with only an average of fifty to sixty for two million people, while we estimate the number needed much, much higher," Lazzarini said.

He pointed out that the convoys which had managed to enter had been subject to looting "because of the total breakdown of law and order".

Agence France-Presse