UNRWA CHIEF WARNS ISRAELI BLOCKADE RISKS RETURN OF HUNGER CRISIS IN GAZA

GENEVA, March 11 (Bernama-Anadolu) -- The UNRWA chief on Monday warned that the Israeli aid blockade into Gaza could bring back "the deepening hunger" to the besieged strip, calling the resumption of aid critical, Anadolu Ajansi (AA) reported.

"I think the more we go ahead (with aid blockade), the more we will see the impact increasing on the population, and obviously the risk is that we go back to the situation we experienced months ago about deepening hunger in the Gaza Strip," Philippe Lazzarini told a press briefing in Geneva.

It is "critical" that humanitarian aid is allowed into Gaza again to maintain the progress made during the first phase of the ceasefire and meet people’s basic needs, Lazzarini said.

Regarding the intent of Israel in blocking the aid, he said: "Whatever the intent is, it's clearly a weaponisation of humanitarian aid into Gaza."

"If you block all the entry points, you create a situation where you use basic humanitarian assistance and food as an instrument to achieve a political goal or military goal, which is contrary to any international humanitarian norm," he added.

He also said that the recent electricity cut by Israel will reduce "significantly" the availability of drinking water as the desalination plant, which benefits from this electricity, was producing drinking water for 600,000 people.

"So that would be a direct impact on the population," he said.

He also touched on the situation in the West Bank and said that several refugee camps have been nearly emptied, displacing around 40,000 Palestinian refugees.

"This is the largest displacement of Palestinians in the West Bank since 1967," he underlined.

Israel cut off the electricity supply to Gaza on Sunday, in the latest move to tighten a stifling blockade on the enclave despite the ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement.

It followed an Israeli decision last week to stop humanitarian aid from entering Gaza, prompting warnings from local and human rights groups of a return to widespread hunger for the Palestinian population.

The ceasefire deal has been in place since January, pausing Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza, which has killed nearly 48,500 people, mostly women and children, and left the enclave in ruins.

Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and his former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.

-- BERNAMA-ANADOLU