UNRWA Says 99 Staff Killed in Gaza
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini said on Thursday that 99 of the commission’s staff have been killed in Gaza since October 7.
The commissioner added that severely limiting food, water and medicine in Gaza is “collective punishment”, saying that the killing of thousands of children “cannot be collateral damage”.
Lazzarini, the Commissioner General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), also said there was need for a meaningful continuous humanitarian aid to Gaza including fuel. He said aid coming in through Rafah was inadequate, adding that all crossings into Gaza should be opened.
He said pushing one million people to leave their homes and concentrate them in areas that lack adequate infrastructure constitutes “forced displacement”.
Following the announcement earlier today by the Israeli army of an additional four-hour evacuation corridor along Salah al-Din Road, thousands of Palestinians were seen leaving northern Gaza on Thursday.
In the past days, Israeli authorities have given a number of brief windows for residents to head south, saying on Wednesday that more than 50,000 people took the road, up from 15,000 the previous day.
Many residents have been resisting the idea of moving south, either due to the danger of crossing or due to the risks of being targeted in the south too.
The UN estimated that up to 30,000 people had returned to their homes in the north after failing to find shelters as Israeli air strikes heavily bombarded areas in southern Gaza.
