GAZA, (Palestine Foundation Information Center) The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) has renewed its call for the Israeli siege on the Gaza Strip to be lifted in order to end the ongoing famine.
In a post on the social media platform X on Monday, UNRWA announced it had received desperate messages reflecting the grim reality of famine in Gaza, including from some of its own staff in the area.
UNRWA emphasized the urgent need to lift the blockade on the Strip and allow the safe and large-scale entry of humanitarian aid to alleviate the worsening humanitarian crisis.
The agency noted that the blockade imposed by Israel since March has caused food prices to soar, by up to 40 times. It stressed that it currently holds sufficient food stockpiles in its warehouses in Arish, Egypt, enough to cover the needs of the entire population of Gaza for more than three months.
The UN agency again appealed for the lifting of the siege and the safe and wide-scale delivery of aid into Gaza.
On Sunday, UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini stated that the failure to pressure Israeli authorities to allow aid into Gaza constitutes “complicity” in the starvation of Palestinians.
Lazzarini shared a typical message he frequently receives from UNRWA staff in Gaza, saying, “I search for food for my children, but I find nothing.” He stressed that this crisis is “man-made, enabled by Israel’s total impunity.”
“We receive daily messages from our starving colleagues in UNRWA,” Lazzarini added. “How does one respond to such messages of despair? It’s shameful and deepens my own sense of helplessness.”
He further emphasized, “All of this is man-made, under complete impunity (enjoyed by Israel).”
Lazzarini noted that “food is available just a few kilometers away” at the border with Gaza. He added, “UNRWA alone has enough supplies outside Gaza to meet the needs of the entire population for the next three months, but we haven’t been allowed to bring in any aid since March 2.”
He stressed that “political will is required” to compel Israel to permit the entry of aid into Gaza. “Inaction is complicity, and it strips us of our humanity.”
The Gaza Ministry of Health announced that Israel’s starvation policy has killed 86 Palestinians, including 76 children, due to malnutrition.
On the same day, Gaza’s Government Media Office warned that the Strip is on the brink of “mass death” after more than 140 days of closed border crossings.
Two million people in Gaza are living through a full-scale humanitarian crisis. Since March 2, 2025, Israeli authorities have closed all border crossings, preventing the entry of food and medical supplies, which has led to a rapid spread of famine.
At the same time, prices have skyrocketed by over 500% on average, with some essential goods increasing by several times their normal cost. For example, the price of a kilogram of flour has risen to 170 shekels, a 240% increase in just one week, while a kilogram of rice now costs 110 shekels, a 175% increase. Before the war, these items were sold for just a few shekels.
Backed fully by the United States, Israeli forces are waging a genocidal war on Gaza, which, according to the Ministry of Health, has so far resulted in 58,765 deaths, 140,485 injuries, over 11,000 missing persons, and a famine that has already killed dozens. More than two million Palestinians are currently living under conditions of forced displacement and total devastation.
