UNRWA Commissioner General Philippe Lazzarini said on Wednesday that West Bank is undergoing an alarming spillover of the Gaza war.
“More than 50 people, including children, have been reported killed since the Israeli forces’ operation started five weeks ago,” he said.
In a statement posted on his X account, Lazzarini said that destruction of public infrastructure, bulldozing roads and access restrictions are commonplace.
People’s lives have been turned upside down, bringing back traumas and loss, he said, adding that around 40,000 people have been forced to flee their homes especially in refugee camps in the north.
“Fear, uncertainty, and grief once again prevail. Affected camps lie in ruins,” he wrote.
The UN official showed that more than 5,000 children who normally go to UNRWA schools have been deprived of education, some for over 10 weeks now.
Also, patients cannot access healthcare, families are cut off from water, electricity and other basic services, he said.
“More and more people are relying on humanitarian aid at a time when aid agencies are overstretched and severely under-resourced,” Lazzarini noted.
“Our UNRWA teams are tracking displaced people and continue to provide them with much needed food, health care, and basics to keep them warm,” he added.
“This must end,” the UN official concluded.
Meanwhile, the recently-appointed Palestinian governor of Tulkarem, Abdallah Kmeil, said on Wednesday that the Israeli forces had notified residents of their intention to demolish 11 homes in the Nur Shams refugee camp in the northern West Bank, where more than 5,000 people live.
“The Israeli occupation notice to demolish 11 homes under the pretext of constructing a road stretching from the camp square towards the Al-Manshiya neighborhood, is considered a new massacre against this camp through systematic destruction and sabotage,” he said.
Kmeil added that Israel’s unprecedented attack on Tulkarem and its camp will not break the resolve of its people.
