Mass Casualties and Starvation in Gaza: UNRWA Chief Calls for Action as Aid Centers Become Deadly

UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini has stated that Gaza has become a graveyard for children and those suffering from starvation. He added that the situation is part of a ‘cruel and Machiavellian scheme to kill’. Reports from the Gaza government show that at least 773 Palestinians have been killed and 5,101 injured since May 27 while seeking food aid distributed near US and Israeli backed centers. Lazzarini’s remarks followed the killing of 15 people by the Israeli military, including children and women, who were waiting for nutritional supplements. Medical sources reported 45 deaths on that day, including 11 near a GHF-run aid center in Rafah. The UN human rights office recorded 798 killings near aid points between May and July 7. According to various news reports, Israeli soldiers and US contractors have confessed to shooting unarmed Palestinians seeking food. The World Food Programme’s deputy executive director, Carl Skau, said the situation in Gaza is ‘the worst that he has ever seen it’. He also noted that the WFP has enough food for two months, but aid trucks are not being allowed entry.