GENEVA: The head of the UN Palestinian refugee agency said on Tuesday (Jul 22) that its staff, as well as doctors and humanitarian workers, were fainting on duty in Gaza due to hunger and exhaustion.
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East said it had received dozens of emergency messages from its staff describing grave conditions and exhaustion in the enclave, where Israel has been fighting a war against Hamas since October 2023.
“No one is spared – caretakers in Gaza are also in need of care. Doctors, nurses, journalists and humanitarians are hungry,” UNRWA Commissioner General Philippe Lazzarini said in a statement, shared by his spokesperson at a press briefing in Geneva.
“Many are now fainting due to hunger and exhaustion while performing their duties – reporting atrocities or alleviating some of the suffering.”
Lazzarini also criticised a US-backed aid distribution scheme run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation that has been supplying aid since late May, when Israel, which controls supplies into Gaza, lifted an 11-week blockade.
“The so-called ‘GHF’ distribution scheme is a sadistic death trap. Snipers open fire randomly on crowds as if they are given a licence to kill,” Lazzarini said.
