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UNRWA Commissioner-General on Gaza: airdrops will not reverse the deepening starvation

UNRWA

28 Jul 2025

26 July 2025

From Philippe Lazzarini, the UNRWA Commissioner-General as posted on his official X account (previously known as Twitter)

Download UNRWA multimedia resources on malnutrition in children here

Gaza: airdrops will not reverse the deepening starvation. They are expensive, inefficient and can even kill starving civilians.

It is a distraction and screensmoke.

A manmade hunger can only be addressed by political will.

Lift the siege, open the gates and guarantee safe movements and dignified access to people in need.

Allow the U.N. including UNRWA and our partners to operate at scale and without bureaucratic or political hurdles.

At UNRWA, we have the equivalent of 6,000 trucks in Jordan and Egypt waiting for the green light to get into Gaza.

Driving aid through is much easier, more effective, faster, cheaper and safer. It's more dignified for the people of Gaza.

Finally, airdrops will not prevent aid diversion, principled humanitarian assistance will. It reaches those in need.

The latest USAID report confirms that there is no "so called" systemic diversion of aid provided by the humanitarian community in Gaza.

Background Information:

UNRWA is the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East. The United Nations General Assembly established UNRWA in 1949 with a mandate to provide humanitarian assistance and protection to registered Palestine refugees in the Agency's area of operations pending a just and lasting solution to their plight.

UNRWA operates in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, The Gaza Strip, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria.

Tens of thousands of Palestine refugees who lost their homes and livelihoods due to the 1948 conflict continue to be displaced and in need of support, nearly 75 years on.

UNRWA helps Palestine Refugees achieve their full potential in human development through quality services it provides in education, health care, relief and social services, protection, camp infrastructure and improvement, microfinance, and emergency assistance. UNRWA is funded almost entirely by voluntary contributions.