UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini said that the famine in Gaza is the direct result of deliberate restrictions on humanitarian aid, compounded by the destruction of vital infrastructure and repeated Israeli attacks on relief operations. “In 30 years of humanitarian work, I have never encountered such blatant disregard for the protected status of humanitarian workers,” Lazzarini added.

Olga Cherevko, spokeswoman for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), warned that Israel has effectively “imposed a death sentence” on Gaza City. Speaking via video link from Deir al-Balah to journalists at the UN headquarters in New York, she said Palestinians are left with no choice but “leave or die.”