UNRWA Commissioner-General says Israel denied his entry to Gaza

NEW YORK: UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini said that on the day new data was out on famine in GAZA, the Israeli Authorities denied his entry to Gaza. 'Famine is imminent in the northern Gaza Strip, expected to arrive between now and May,' he said in a post on the X platform. The entire population of Gaza - Two million people - are facing crisis levels of food insecurity or worse, he stressed. 'Half the population has completely exhausted food supplies and coping capacities. They are struggling with catastrophic hunger (IPC Phase 5) and starvation.' This is the highest number of people ever recorded as facing catastrophic hunger by the IPC system and double the number just three months ago, stressed the UNRWA chief. Earlier, UNICEF warned that children under two years old suffering from acute malnutrition have doubled in one month. 'Children are now dying of dehydration and hunger.' He stressed that UNRWA has by far the largest presence among all humanitarian organizations in Gaza. 'My vis it today was supposed to coordinate and improve the humanitarian response,' said the UN agency chief. 'This man-made starvation under our watch is a stain on our collective humanity,' he said. 'Too much time was wasted, all land crossings must open now. Famine can be averted with political will,' he concluded. Source: Palestine News and Information Agency – WAFA