Humanitarian workers in Gaza are collapsing on the job from hunger and exhaustion, according to the head of the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees, who described the situation as dire and worsening by the day.
On Tuesday, UNRWA said it had received dozens of urgent distress messages from staff describing severe fatigue and deteriorating conditions in the enclave, where Israel has been locked in a war with Hamas since October 2023.
“No one is spared: caretakers in Gaza are also in need of care. Doctors, nurses, journalists and humanitarians are hungry,” said UNRWA Commissioner General Philippe Lazzarini, in a statement shared by his spokesperson during a press briefing in Geneva.
“Many are now fainting due to hunger and exhaustion while performing their duties, reporting atrocities or alleviating some of the suffering,” he added.
Lazzarini also strongly criticized a U.S. backed aid distribution operation managed by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), which has been providing aid since late May, after Israel ended an 11-week blockade on supplies entering Gaza.
“The so called ‘GHF’ distribution scheme is a sadistic death trap,” Lazzarini said. “Snipers open fire randomly on crowds as if they are given a license to kill.” The GHF relies on private U.S. logistics and security companies and largely operates outside the U.N. led aid system.
Israel has accused the U.N. system of allowing Hamas led militants to seize aid intended for civilians, an accusation Hamas denies.Since the end of May, more than 1,000 people have reportedly been killed while attempting to collect food aid, according to UNRWA estimates.
The U.N. said on July 15 that it had recorded at least 875 deaths at aid distribution points in Gaza operated by GHF and other humanitarian convoys over the previous six weeks. Most of the casualties occurred near GHF sites, while the remaining 201 were killed along the routes of other aid convoys.
The Israeli Foreign Ministry, GHF, and COGAT, the Israeli military body coordinating humanitarian aid, were not immediately available for comment. GHF has previously denied such incidents, claiming they have not occurred at their sites, and has accused the U.N. of spreading misinformation, an accusation the U.N. strongly refutes.
