News / Palestine

UNRWA warns Israel against using aid as ‘weapon of war’ in Gaza

Tuesday, 04 March 2025 5:12 PM [ Last Update: Tuesday, 04 March 2025 5:12 PM ]

Aid trucks are seen on the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip, January 19, 2025. (Reuters)

UNRWA has censured Israel for its decision to block humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip, saying food and basic necessities should not be used as a method of warfare.

The UNRWA commissioner-general Philippe Lazzarini stated in a social media post on Tuesday that the regime was endangering the lives of already exhausted civilians in Gaza.

“Humanitarian aid must continue to flow at scale similar to what we’ve seen over the past six weeks when the ceasefire began,” said Lazzarini on X.

“Aid and these basic services are nonnegotiable. They must never be used as weapons of war.”

The decision of Israel to stop aid into #Gaza threatens the lives of civilians exhausted by 16 months of brutal war.

Humanitarian aid must continue to flow at scale similar to what we’ve seen over the past six weeks when the ceasefire began.
This brought respite & relief to…
— Philippe Lazzarini (@UNLazzarini) March 4, 2025

Gaza’s Government Media Office also said Israel’s closure of the Kerem Shalom crossing for the third consecutive day exacerbated the humanitarian disaster.

The continued closure of the crossing deepens the famine crisis with scarcity of supplies and lack of alternatives, the office said.

It warned that the continued use of starvation as a tool of war is a serious violation of international humanitarian law.

The office said Israeli restrictions were delaying the recovery of the bodies of more than 10,000 people under the rubble.

UN relief chief says Israel’s decision to halt Gaza aid ‘alarming’

Several UN aid agencies have warned that Israel’s blockade of Gaza aid is a flagrant breach of international law.

In a statement released on Tuesday, the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas said prevention of the entry of goods by Israel was “targeting innocent civilians and deepening their humanitarian suffering.”

“The international community, the United Nations, and human rights and humanitarian organizations must take immediate action to stop these systematic and unprecedented violations of international and humanitarian law.”

Israel is blocking the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza after Hamas refused to accept a US proposal to extend the first phase of the truce with the regime without going ahead with the second phase.

Hamas has slammed the move as a “coup” against the ceasefire deal, holding the regime responsible for the fate of the Israeli captives.

The Islamic Jihad has also said Israel bears responsibility for the consequences of sabotaging the truce.

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