Philippe Lazzarini

I welcome the unambiguous ruling by the International Court of Justice today stating that:    - Israel is under an obligation to agree to & facilitate relief schemes provided by the United Nations & its entities, in particular @UNRWA.    - ⁠Israel’s claim that UNRWA is infiltrated by Hamas was not substantiated, nor were allegations that UNRWA is not a neutral organisation.  - ⁠There must be accountability for the killing of UNRWA staff members, for the severe mistreatment of humanitarian staff in detention & for the destruction, damage + misuse of UNRWA facilities. - ⁠UNRWA is the key humanitarian actor with a “unique & sustained connection” to the occupied Palestinian territories, whose operations must be facilitated rather than obstructed — particularly given the dire humanitarian conditions in Gaza.    - ⁠Providing every assistance to UNRWA’s mandated operations & activities in good faith is part of Israel’s legal obligations as a UN Member State.    With huge amounts of food & other life saving supplies on standby in Egypt & Jordan, UNRWA has the resources & expertise to immediately scale up the humanitarian response in Gaza & help alleviate the suffering of the civilian population.

Before the spread of #famine, community based distribution centres supported by partners, provided food & assistance to 2 million people, spread across the #Gaza Strip. Five months on the ongoing attempts to replace the UN coordinated response by four Israeli militarized distribution points, hunger has become the latest killer in Gaza. It’s time for unhindered, safe & dignified assistance. Let the UN and our partners do their job. @OCHA OPT (Palestine) 👇

Silencing voices. As if banning international media is not enough. Humanitarian workers are also banned when they report on atrocities committed in #Gaza & elsewhere in the occupied Palestinian territory. The denial of a visa to our colleague from @OCHA OPT (Palestine) is the latest in a

“I wished for death to end the nightmare I was living through”. Received this awful testimony from a colleague who was rounded up in #Gaza tortured while in Israeli detention and finally released. For @UNRWA staff humanitarian duty is met with brutality. Since the start of the war in October 2023, over 50 UNRWA staff among them teachers, doctors social workers, have been detained & abused. They have been treated in the most shocking & inhumane way. They reported being beaten up + used as human shields. They were subjected to sleep deprivation, humiliation, threats of harm to them & their families + attacks by dogs. Many were subjected to forced confessions. This is nothing short of harrowing & outrageous. Humanitarian workers are #NotATarget. Their suffering must not be ignored. There must be justice & accountability for the crimes + violations of international law committed in the #Gaza Strip. Justice for those serving on the humanitarian frontlines is not an option, it is an obligation.