UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini has called on all UN member states to demand an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and to ensure unrestricted access for UN humanitarian operations, including UNRWA itself, following the release of a UN inquiry report concluding that Israel has committed genocide in the Gaza Strip.
In a statement posted Wednesday on X (formerly Twitter), Lazzarini cited the findings of the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry, which determined that Israel responded to the humanitarian crisis not with cooperation, but by banning and excluding UNRWA, the primary UN agency delivering aid in Gaza.
|UN Warns of Mass Displacement and Humanitarian Collapse in Gaza|
“The Commission concluded that, rather than facilitating humanitarian access, Israel imposed political and coordinated measures, including the creation of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), to obstruct trusted relief agencies such as UNRWA from delivering life-saving assistance,” Lazzarini wrote.
“These actions contributed to the physical destruction of Palestinians in Gaza by rendering living conditions uninhabitable,” Lazzarini concluded.
Residents say bombardment of Gaza City has ramped up dramatically, with incessant explosions destroying dozens of homes and naval boats joining tanks and jets in the major assault. At least 61 have been killed in Gaza City today.
Gaza City has been facing an intensified military offensive, with residents reporting relentless shelling and widespread destruction.
Israeli Naval forces have joined ground troops and air units in the bombing, which has left at least 61 people killed, and dozens more injured, in the city on Wednesday.
Across the Gaza Strip, dozens more have been killed since sunrise as Israel presses forward with its large-scale ground operation, despite mounting global criticism.
Among the casualties are a mother and her child, who lost their lives when an airstrike hit their apartment in the Shati refugee camp, located west of Gaza City.
Since the start of the genocide in October 2023, the death toll in Gaza has surpassed 65,062, with over 165,697 reported injuries. Thousands remain trapped beneath collapsed buildings. In Israel, the October 7 attacks resulted in 1,139 deaths and around 200 people taken hostage.
