Today's Edition
WAEL BADRAN (RAFAH)
Philippe Lazzarini, Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), stated that the Rafah Crossing is inadequate for the necessary aid delivery and emphasised the urgency of opening the "Kerem Shalom" crossing and increasing the number of aid trucks entering the Gaza Strip by fourfold.
In a statement to Aletihad during a tour organised by the UAE for UN Security Council members at the Rafah Crossing on Tuesday to highlight the challenges in delivering aid, Lazzarini remarked that the efforts to reach a ceasefire were intensive.
"Efforts to reach a ceasefire consensus have been substantial, yet an agreement remains elusive. Unfortunately, the Security Council failed to reach a consensus last Friday, and today's visit aims to enhance understanding of the humanitarian system operating on the Egyptian side of Rafah," he said.
Lazzarini's message to the Security Council members was clear: additional aid is crucial, as the Rafah Crossing alone is insufficient.
"We need to open the Kerem Shalom crossing and quadruple the number of aid-laden trucks entering the Gaza Strip," he asserted, pointing out that unless that is achieved, organisations will not be able to meet the overwhelming and continuous needs of the population who have lost everything and now rely entirely on international aid.
He also shed light on the dire situation in the Gaza Strip, where residents, enduring weeks of continuous bombing, are in desperate need of aid and "no longer have time or options". Lazzarini recounted witnessing residents stopping an aid truck, urgently seeking food and consuming it on the street.
"It's unrealistic to expect people to endure such living conditions," Lazzarini said, noting that the population of Rafah city, located on the Egyptian border and home to the only crossing open for humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip, has surged from 280,000 to over a million.
Lazzarini stressed that the humanitarian response in the Palestinian territories largely hinges on UNRWA's capacity, which is currently "on the brink of collapse."
