UNRWA: People of Gaza 'Running Out Of Time and Options

Protesters demanding job opportunities rally in front of the UNRWA headquarters in Gaza City in August. (AFP)
Protesters demanding job opportunities rally in front of the UNRWA headquarters in Gaza City in August. (AFP)
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UNRWA: People of Gaza 'Running Out Of Time and Options

Protesters demanding job opportunities rally in front of the UNRWA headquarters in Gaza City in August. (AFP)
Protesters demanding job opportunities rally in front of the UNRWA headquarters in Gaza City in August. (AFP)

The head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees warned Wednesday that the people of Gaza were "running out of time and options" as Israel's war against Hamas grinds on.

"They face bombardment, deprivation and disease in an ever-shrinking space," UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini told the Global Refugee Forum in Geneva.

Lazzarini described the situation in Gaza as "hell on earth".

People in the Palestinian territory were "facing the darkest chapter of their history since 1948, and it has been a painful history", he said, AFP reported.

Now in its third month, the bloodiest-ever Gaza war broke out after Hamas gunmen attacked Israel on October 7.

Israel's relentless bombardment and ground operation in Gaza has left the territory in ruins, killing more than 18,400 people, mostly women and children, according to the Gaza health ministry.

The UN estimates 1.9 million of Gaza's 2.4 million people have been displaced and are receiving goods from only around 100 aid trucks per day.

"We are very far from an adequate humanitarian response," Lazzarini said.

When aid was delivered, it was often not more than a can of tuna or beans and one bottle of water for a large family to share, he added.

He described seeing people halting an aid truck and in desperation and swallowing down the food found inside where they stood in the street.

"The people of Gaza are now crammed into less than one-third of the original territory near the Egyptian border, he added, hinting that the dire situation might soon spark an exodus.

"It is unrealistic to think that people will remain resilient in the face of unlivable conditions of such magnitude, especially when the border is so close," he said.

The city of Rafah on the Egyptian border, the only crossing where aid is entering Gaza, has seen its population explode from 280,000 to more than a million, Lazzarini said.

And while most aid delivery in Gaza depends on UNRWA, he warned the agency's capacities were "on the verge of collapse".

Addressing journalists at the same event, UN refugee chief Filippo Grandi also warned of the danger of large population movements out of Gaza.

Any such exodus "would be extremely destabilizing for Egypt, for the Sinai region, and it would make a problematic Palestinian problem more difficult", he said.

It is vital that any evacuation of people out of the devastated territory "is not forced", he said.

"Since these people are under bombardment and in a very difficult situation, it must be said that a ceasefire is the only way out of this impasse."



Germany, France, Britain Call on Israel to Allow Aid into Gaza 

A Palestinian girl inspects the damage after an Israeli strike on the Yafa school building, a school-turned-shelter, in Gaza City on April 23, 2025. (AFP) 
A Palestinian girl inspects the damage after an Israeli strike on the Yafa school building, a school-turned-shelter, in Gaza City on April 23, 2025. (AFP) 
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Germany, France, Britain Call on Israel to Allow Aid into Gaza 

A Palestinian girl inspects the damage after an Israeli strike on the Yafa school building, a school-turned-shelter, in Gaza City on April 23, 2025. (AFP) 
A Palestinian girl inspects the damage after an Israeli strike on the Yafa school building, a school-turned-shelter, in Gaza City on April 23, 2025. (AFP) 

The foreign ministers of Germany, France and Britain jointly called on Israel to adhere to international law by allowing the unhindered passage of humanitarian aid into Gaza, in a statement released on Wednesday.

"Humanitarian aid must never be used as a political tool and Palestinian territory must not be reduced nor subjected to any demographic change," the ministers said.

They urged all parties to return to a ceasefire and called on Hamas to immediately release the remaining hostages.

Since the beginning of March, Israel sealed Gaza’s 2 million Palestinians off from all imports, including food, medical supplies and fuel. Israeli officials say the aim is to pressure Hamas to release more hostages after Israel ended their ceasefire.