Gaza ‘land of desperation’ after 50 days of total Israeli siege

Iran Press TV

Tuesday, 22 April 2025 3:38 PM

Philippe Lazzarini, the head of the UN’s Relief and Works Agency for Palestine (UNRWA), has said that after 50 days of being under total siege, Gaza has become a “land of desperation.”

“Gaza has become a land of desperation … Hunger is spreading and deepening, deliberate and manmade,” wrote Lazzarini, on his X account.

“Two million people: a majority of women and children are undergoing collective punishment,” Lazzarini added.

Meanwhile, the Israeli regime launched one of the largest military assaults in Gaza on Tuesday, residents said.

“How much longer until hollow words of condemnation will translate into action to lift the siege, resume a ceasefire, and save whatever is left of humanity?” Lazzarini asked.

The heads of 12 major aid organizations warned last Thursday that famine is spreading alarmingly in all parts of Gaza.

According to Jens Laerke, the spokesperson of the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), Gaza is headed towards “total disaster.”

Health ministry: Gaza headed towards Polio outbreak

The Ministry of Health in Gaza has warned that due to the Israeli blockade, the healthcare condition in the territory is near total collapse.

A UN-backed polio vaccination campaign, which was meant to target over 600,000 children and halt the spread of the disease among them, has been suspended due to the blockade, said Khalil Deqran, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Health in Gaza.

Unless the children of Gaza are vaccinated, the crippling disease which had been almost eradicated in the conclave, will return in full force, Deqran warned.

If polio vaccines do not arrive immediately, “we anticipate a real catastrophe. Children and patients must not be used as cards of political blackmail,” he said.

Hamas condemns international failure to lift Gaza siege

Hamas condemned the Israeli regime’s blockade of Gaza and warned that the regime is forcing famine on more than two million people.

The group said in a statement that the enclave has been in severe shortage of food, fuel, medicine, and water.

“The Gaza Strip is facing an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe,” said Hamas.

In addition to the enforcement of the cruel siege, the regime has been attacking hospitals, residential areas, and shelters daily, Hamas said.

It accused the international community of “political, moral, and humanitarian failure” and called on the UN and others to pressure the Israeli regime to lift the blockade and allow aid to enter the territory.

It also urged Arab and Muslim countries, along with global activists, to “break the siege” and support Gaza’s resistance against Israel’s “fascist plans.”

On March 18, the Israeli regime broke its ceasefire agreement with Hamas, besieged Gaza once more, and stopped the entrance of all aid into the territory. The Israeli regime has accused Palestine’s resistance fighters of diverting aid, which Hamas has categorically denied.