UNRWA Chief Says Dehumanization of Palestinians Enable Israeli Attacks

Palestinian employees of United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) take part in a protest against job cuts (Reuters)
Palestinian employees of United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) take part in a protest against job cuts (Reuters)
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UNRWA Chief Says Dehumanization of Palestinians Enable Israeli Attacks

Palestinian employees of United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) take part in a protest against job cuts (Reuters)
Palestinian employees of United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) take part in a protest against job cuts (Reuters)

The head of UNRWA, the UN aid agency for Palestinians, on Sunday said that dehumanization of Palestinians has allowed the international community to bear continued Israeli attacks in Gaza.

UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini said the refugee agency is on the verge of collapsing in Gaza, adding that an immediate ceasefire is needed to end “hell on earth” in Gaza.

On Sunday, Israeli forces pushed into southern Gaza, where hundreds of thousands of civilians have fled in search of shelter from bombardments and intense fighting with Hamas.

Aid groups have sounded the alarm on the "apocalyptic" humanitarian situation in the Palestinian territory, warning it is on the brink of being overwhelmed by disease and starvation.

For its part, Hamas said Sunday that Israel had launched a series of "very violent raids" targeting the southern city of Khan Yunis and the road from there to Rafah, near the border with Egypt.



Blinken Aims to 'Cross Finish Line' on Gaza Ceasefire, Hostages Deal

A wounded Palestinian boy is carried to Al Aqsa Hospital following an Israeli air strike on Al Bureije refugee camp in Deir Al Balah, central Gaza Strip, 05 January 2025. EPA/MOHAMMED SABER
A wounded Palestinian boy is carried to Al Aqsa Hospital following an Israeli air strike on Al Bureije refugee camp in Deir Al Balah, central Gaza Strip, 05 January 2025. EPA/MOHAMMED SABER
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Blinken Aims to 'Cross Finish Line' on Gaza Ceasefire, Hostages Deal

A wounded Palestinian boy is carried to Al Aqsa Hospital following an Israeli air strike on Al Bureije refugee camp in Deir Al Balah, central Gaza Strip, 05 January 2025. EPA/MOHAMMED SABER
A wounded Palestinian boy is carried to Al Aqsa Hospital following an Israeli air strike on Al Bureije refugee camp in Deir Al Balah, central Gaza Strip, 05 January 2025. EPA/MOHAMMED SABER

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Monday that Washington wanted to see a ceasefire deal in Gaza concluded and the hostages brought out in the next two weeks.
A renewed push is under way to reach a ceasefire in the war between Israel and Hamas and return Israeli hostages before US President-elect Donald Trump takes office on Jan. 20.
"We very much want to bring this over the finish line in the next two weeks, the time we have remaining," Blinken told a press conference in South Korea, when asked whether a ceasefire deal was close.