Gaza is a Living Hell: UNRWA Commissioner Lazzarini

On Wednesday, the three-day Global Refugee Forum 2023 (GRF) kicked off in Geneva with the participation of some 4,000 delegates from 165 countries. Among them is Philippe Lazzarini, the commissioner of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).

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When speaking to attendees at this event, Lazzarini began by highlighting his direct personal experience of what is happening in Gaza as a result of the Israeli bombings.

"I arrived in Geneva last night. Straight from Gaza. My third time since the devastating war started. I have to say, it is a living hell," he says.

"Most of Gaza's population has been forcibly displaced, largely into the southern part of the Strip, Rafah. Rafah is now hosting well over a million people. It used to be home to 280,000 people. It lacks the infrastructure and resources to support such a population."

The UNRWA commissioner highlighted that the Israeli siege is generating an unprecedented humanitarian crisis whose most obvious aspect is the famine.

"The spaces around UNRWA buildings are congested with shelters and desperate, hungry people. Aid can no longer reach those who could not move to the south. There is no more food to buy, even for those who can pay. In the shops, the shelves are empty," Lazzarini said.

"The sight of a truck carrying humanitarian assistance now provokes chaos. People are hungry. They stop the truck and ask for food, and they eat it on the street. I witnessed this firsthand when I entered into Gaza on Monday evening. To call such scenes inhumane is an understatement. Civil order is breaking down."

In addition to all the logistical problems faced in Gaza, the provision of humanitarian assistance is becoming increasingly unsustainable as Israeli aggression affects even international cooperation officials.

"More than 130 UNRWA staff are confirmed killed. Many of our staff, who are themselves displaced, take their children to work with them to ensure that they are safe together or die together," Lazzarini stated.

"There is nowhere to feel safe in Gaza. Civilian infrastructure and UN facilities have not been spared by the shelling. I was horrified by images yesterday of an UNRWA school being blown up in the north of Gaza."

"The people of Gaza are running out of time and options, as they face bombardment, deprivation, and disease in an ever-shrinking space. They are facing the darkest chapter of their history since 1948."

At the GRF 2023 on Wednesday, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi said he expected the event to provide an opportunity to "re-commit to some basic actions needed to respond to forced displacement: protecting people forced to flee, sharing the responsibility of those who host them... and striving to tackle the root causes of their flight."

Currently, there are a record 114 million refugees and displaced people in the world, he said, "whom persecution, human rights violations, violence, armed conflict and serious public disorder have forced from their homes."

He also highlighted the major human catastrophe now unfolding in the Gaza Strip, saying that tragically, there might be more civilian deaths and suffering and also further displacement that threatens the region.

"I cannot open the Global Refugee Forum without first echoing the call of the United Nations secretary general for an immediate and sustained humanitarian ceasefire, the release of hostages and the resumption of a genuine dialogue that once and for all ends the conflict and brings real peace and security to the people of Israel and Palestine," he said.