Geneva – SABA
UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini on Tuesday strongly condemned so-called aid distribution programs in Gaza—chiefly the “Gaza Relief Foundation”—calling them a “sadistic death trap.”
In press remarks, Lazzarini stated that Israeli army snipers are firing indiscriminately at crowds desperately scrambling for food, as if carrying a “license to kill.” He described widespread scenes of Palestinians being hunted en masse, with no accountability, according to the Palestinian news agency Quds Press.
“Searching for food in Gaza has become as deadly as the bombing,” Lazzarini said, noting that UNRWA has received confirmed reports of over 1,000 starving Palestinians killed since the end of May, amid what he described as “an unbearable hellish reality.”
He emphasized that famine is deepening by the day, affecting everyone—doctors, nurses, journalists, and humanitarian workers—many of whom now suffer from extreme hunger, often fainting on duty due to exhaustion and malnutrition.
“This cannot be the new normal,” the UNRWA chief declared, stressing that humanitarian aid must not be turned into a mercenary operation.
“We at the UN, along with our humanitarian partners, have the expertise, capacity, and resources to deliver aid safely, with dignity, and on a large scale—we’ve demonstrated this during previous ceasefires,” he added.
Lazzarini concluded with an urgent call to end what he termed a “heinous crime” and to press for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.
Meanwhile, Dr. Mohammad Abu Salmiya, Director of Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza, warned of “terrifying” numbers in the coming days due to the rapid spread of famine. He said about 900,000 children in Gaza are currently suffering from hunger, with 70,000 of them now in the stage of acute malnutrition.
Speaking to the media on Tuesday, Abu Salmiya confirmed that famine-related deaths in Gaza have risen to 21 in the last few hours alone and warned of a spike in fatalities due to the deliberate starvation campaign targeting Gaza’s population.
Earlier Tuesday, the Gaza Health Ministry announced that 15 Palestinians—including four children—died in the past 24 hours as a result of worsening famine and malnutrition, caused by the ongoing Israeli blockade.
This raises the total number of confirmed famine-related deaths to 101, including 80 children.
The ministry noted an unprecedented influx of starving patients of all ages arriving at emergency rooms in severe exhaustion and critical condition. It warned that hundreds of severely emaciated individuals are at imminent risk of death due to prolonged hunger and physical breakdown.
It also reported that Israeli attacks continue to target food distribution centers—most recently within the past few hours—killing five civilians and injuring 52 others. This brings the total number of casualties from what have become known as “American death traps” to 1,026 dead and 6,563 injured, marking one of the most grotesque abuses of humanitarian aid as a weapon against civilians.