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UNRWA Commissioner-General on Gaza: the new aid distribution system has become a killing field

From Philippe Lazzarini, the UNRWA Commissioner-General as posted on his official X account (previously known as Twitter)

Gaza: the new aid distribution system has become a killing field.

Over 400 starving people reported killed since it started operating just a month ago.

They were shot at while trying to access food for themselves and their families.

Testimonies are coming out that soldiers opened fire indiscriminately.

In the chaos, children were separated from their families: disoriented and traumatized.

The system falls far from abiding to the principle of humanity.

It is not designed to address hunger and is often justified using the pretext of aid diversion that is yet to be substantiated let alone proven.

Instead of "orderly food distribution”, this system brings dehumanization, chaos and death.

This cannot become the new norm.

This abomination must end through a return to humanitarian deliveries from the UN including UNRWA.

A ceasefire is needed and the siege must be lifted to bring back a standard flow of basics including food, medicine, soap and fuel.

Background Information:

UNRWA is the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East. The United Nations General Assembly established UNRWA in 1949 with a mandate to provide humanitarian assistance and protection to registered Palestine refugees in the Agency’s area of operations pending a just and lasting solution to their plight.

UNRWA operates in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, The Gaza Strip, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria.

Tens of thousands of Palestine refugees who lost their homes and livelihoods due to the 1948 conflict continue to be displaced and in need of support, nearly 75 years on.

UNRWA helps Palestine Refugees achieve their full potential in human development through quality services it provides in education, health care, relief and social services, protection, camp infrastructure and improvement, microfinance, and emergency assistance. UNRWA is funded almost entirely by voluntary contributions.