Briefing journalists in Geneva on his return from Rafah Governorate, UNRWA Commissioner General Philippe Lazzarini explained that people were “desperate, hungry and terrified,” 69 days since the Israeli military bombardment began in response to the Hamas terror attacks on October 7. in southern Israel.
Despair, no distraction
Hunger is something Gazans have “never, ever” experienced in their troubled history, the veteran UN humanitarian continued. “I saw it with my eyes people in Rafah, out of total desperation, have decided to help themselves straight from the truck and eat what they took from the truck on the spot… This has nothing to do with diverting aid.”
Only a significant scale-up of humanitarian assistance to the enclave will help prevent a deepening of the already dire humanitarian situation there – and their sense of betrayal and abandonment by the international community, the head of UNRWA stressed, as he called for the reopening of Kerem Shalom. crossing from Israel to commercial vehicles and lifting the “siege” of Gaza.
Epicenter of displacement
Rafah Governorate, near the Egyptian border, has now become the “epicenter of displacement,” with more than a million people seeking shelter there, Mr. Lazzarini explained. UNRWA facilities are extremely overcrowded, meaning that countless tens of thousands have “absolutely nowhere to go.”
“The lucky ones are the ones who have a place in our building,” he said, especially now that winter had started. Those outside must live in the open, “in the mud and under the rain.”
Fear of being forgotten
Mr. Lazzarini said that people in Gaza believe that their lives are “not equal to those of others” and that they feel that “human rights and international humanitarian law do not apply to them.”
He emphasized the sense of isolation that prevails in the enclave and emphasized that the people there are ‘normal’ desire for security and stability”, wishing for a normal life from which they are “now very far away”.
“What continues to shock me is the ever-increasing level of dehumanization” he said, lamenting the fact that some “may applaud the misconduct in this war… What is happening in Gaza should outrage everyone” and make us “reconsider our values,” he stressed.
“This is a make or break moment for all of us and our shared humanity.”
Smear campaign
“I am appalled by the smear campaign targeting the Palestinians and those who provide aid to them,” he said, urging the media to “help us reduce misinformation and inaccuracies” and stressing that fact-checking is crucial is.
“In suffering there is no competition. Ultimately, there will be no winner in this war; the longer the war lasts, the greater the loss and the deeper the grief.
“There is absolutely no alternative to a real, real political process to end once and for all the longest-standing, unresolved political conflict, which has existed for 75 years without resolution. It’s time for this to become a priority. Peace and stability: that is what the region deserves.”
