UNRWA Urges Israel for Free Access to North of Gaza to Conduct Lifesaving Operations

Gaza, MINA – The United Nations for Refugees and Works Agency (UNRWA) urged the Israeli occupation authorities on Monday to allow its team access to the north of Gaza to conduct “lifesaving operations” amidst a deadly Israeli military campaign for over two weeks leaving Palestinians with no medicine, water or food.

The UN organization reiterated in a post on X the urgent request by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) to the Israeli occupation authorities “to allow access in order to carry out lifesaving rescue operations in (northern) Gaza, including the recovery of people trapped under rubble, Palestine Chronicle reports.

UNRWA detailed in another post the health situation in the north of Gaza stating that none of UNRWA’s medical points are operational, nonetheless, its teams are ready but in desperate need of medical supplies to be able to provide care.

It added that patients in the ICU have died following power cuts due to Israeli strikes on hospital facilities, stressing that the Kamal Adwan and Al-Awda hospitals are operating at minimum capacity due to an acute shortage of medical supplies and staff.

On his part, UNRWA’s Commissioner-General, Philippe Lazzarini, stated in a post on his X account that the Israeli occupation authorities “continue to deny humanitarian missions to reach the north with critical supplies including medicine and food for people under siege.”

“Hospitals have been hit and are left without power while injured people are left without care,” he continued.

“@UNRWA remaining shelters are so overcrowded, some displaced people are now forced to live in the toilets,” he added.

The commissioner-general quoted reports that spoke of the devastating humanitarian conditions under which Palestinians in the north are living during the latest Israeli deadly military operation that entered its third week.

“People attempting to flee are getting killed, their bodies left on the street. Missions to rescue people from under the rubble are also being denied,” he said.

He demanded the Israeli occupation authorities to allow humanitarian agencies including the UNRWA access to the north of Gaza, emphasizing that “no one should beg to assist or be assisted,” and aid should reach everyone in Gaza including Israeli captives.

“Denying and weaponizing humanitarian assistance to achieve military purposes is a sign of how low the moral compass is,” Lazzarini added. (T/RE1/P2)

Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)