UN Personnel and Medical Staff in Gaza Fainting Due to Hunger and Exhaustion: UNRWA Leader Reports
In a statement released on Tuesday, the commissioner-general of UNRWA highlighted that numerous individuals are collapsing from hunger and exhaustion as they continue their efforts to report on atrocities and alleviate suffering.
“No one is exempt: caregivers in Gaza are themselves in need of assistance. Medical professionals, journalists, and aid workers are experiencing hunger,” Lazzarini stated.
Reports indicate that UNRWA has received numerous urgent messages from its personnel, detailing dire conditions and exhaustion within the blockaded Palestinian region.
Lazzarini criticized a US-supported aid distribution initiative operated by the Israel-US-supported Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), which has been “providing aid” in the blockaded region since late May.
Lazzarini denounced the ‘GHF’ distribution program as a cruel and deadly operation, noting that snipers have been indiscriminately shooting into crowds as if authorized to do so.
The Global Humanitarian Fund (GHF) employs private security and logistics firms based in the United States, opting to largely circumvent a system overseen by the United Nations.
Lazzarini reported that over 1,000 individuals have reportedly lost their lives in efforts to obtain food assistance since the conclusion of May.
The United Nations, along with its affiliated agencies and other humanitarian organizations, have frequently stated that they are unable to verify any of the claims made by the GHF concerning food distribution in Gaza.
Since May 27, 2025, thousands of Palestinians have reportedly been killed and injured by Israeli gunfire as they approached the GHF distribution facilities.
In a report published by the Israeli newspaper Haaretz in late June 2025, it was revealed that Israeli forces were instructed to open fire on unarmed individuals seeking humanitarian aid in an effort to deter them from approaching food distribution centers.
The United Nations and various humanitarian organizations have expressed criticism towards the Global Humanitarian Forum (GHF) for allegedly politicizing the distribution of aid. They assert that the GHF’s actions may be providing Israel with a pretext to advance its objectives of reducing the Palestinian population in the Gaza Strip.
In the last 24 hours, Gaza has witnessed the tragic deaths of 15 individuals, among them four children, as a result of starvation and malnutrition.
The conflict initiated in October 2023 between the United States, Israel, and Palestinian territories has resulted in the death of over 59,000 Palestinians and left more than 142,500 individuals injured.
