UNRWA Commissioner-General says clock is ticking towards famine in Gaza

IRNA – Islamic Republic News Agency

May 18, 2025

Tehran, IRNA — Philippe Lazzarini, the Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), has warned against the Israeli blockade in Gaza and said the clock is ticking towards famine and the people of Gaza are dying.

“Don’t reinvent the wheel: putting together new ‘plans’ is a distraction from the atrocities + a waste of resources,” Lazzarini wrote on his X account on Saturday.

“The humanitarian community in Gaza, including UNRWA , is ready. It has the experience & expertise to reach people in need,” he added.

“Our aid is piled up outside: food will rot, medicines will expire,” he said urging lifting of siege in Gaza Strip and allowing the UNRWA officials to do their job.

Meanwhile, UNICEF Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa, Edouard Beigbeder in a statement offered his concern over killing of at least 45 children in the Gaza Strip over the past two days.

“Only in the past two months, more than 950 children have reportedly been killed in strikes across the Gaza Strip,” the statement reads.

“Children’s rights in Gaza are being gravely violated every day and urgent action is needed to protect children from widespread grave violations of their rights and threats to their survival,” Beigbeder said.

“Nineteen months into this conflict, children have suffered violence without relent, including indiscriminate attacks,” he added.

He noted that children have endured repeated blockades lasting for months, which have deprived them of vital food, water, and medical supplies.

He called on parties to the conflict to end the violence and states with influence over parties to the conflict to use their leverage and influence to end the conflict.

The Israeli regime’s aggression against Gaza began on October 8, 2023, resulting in over 53,000 deaths and nearly 120,000 injuries. Since March 2, 2025, the regime has enforced a full blockade on Gaza for the past 74 days.

9376**9417