Israel has prevented General Philippe Lazzarini, the head of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, from entering Gaza for the second time during the current Gaza war. This information was reported by the Turkish news agency Anadolu Agency on May 6.
According to the report, Lazzarini expressed his disappointment in an interview, stating that he had planned to visit his staff working in Gaza. He also highlighted Israel’s previous record of preventing the entry of human rights activists and attacking their convoys.
Lazzarini called on Israel to allow humanitarian aid access to different parts of the valley, including northern Gaza. Israel has barred the head of the United Nations relief agency from entering Gaza for the second time
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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu referred to the capture of the crossing as a significant step towards dismantling Hamas’ military and governing capabilities. Defense Minister Yoav Gallant also stated that Israel would intensify the Rafah operation if the talks on the hostage deal failed.
Osama Hamdan, a Hamas official based in Beirut, stated that the militant group would not respond to military pressure or threats, nor would it accept any “occupying force” at the Rafah crossing.
White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby has confirmed that the operation along the Gaza-Egypt border in eastern Rafah was not a full-scale invasion of the city that President Joe Biden has repeatedly warned against on humanitarian grounds. Israel described it as “an operation of limited scale and duration” aimed at cutting off Hamas arms smuggling.
Kirby expressed optimism about the ongoing negotiations between Israel and Hamas. According to him, both parties should be able to close the remaining gaps soon, although he did not provide a specific timeline. CIA chief William Burns will attend further talks in Cairo with representatives from Israel, Egypt, and Qatar. Hamas has also sent a delegation to Cairo, which will meet separately with the Arab mediators. Kirby stated that “Everybody is coming to the table.” Israel has barred the head of the United Nations relief agency from entering Gaza for the second time “Our access to Rafah crossing has been denied by COGAT, so we currently do not have any physical presence there,” he said, referring to the Israeli agency that oversees supplies into the Palestinian territories.
We have been informed that no personnel or goods can cross in or out for now, which significantly impacts our current stock.We have been informed that no personnel or goods can cross in or out for now, which significantly impacts our current stock.
“As fuel only enters Gaza through Rafah, the one-day buffer is essential for the entire operation in the region,” said Laerke. If no fuel comes in, “it would be a very effective way of putting the humanitarian operation in peril.” Currently, the two main routes for providing aid to Gaza are blocked, specifically the Rafah crossing from Egypt and the Kerem Shalom crossing from Israel.”
UNRWA is the largest aid organization in Gaza, with around 13,000 staff working in the territory. Unfortunately, Israel’s bombardment has caused a significant number of casualties, with at least 34,683 people, mostly women and children, killed according to the Hamas-run health ministry. UNRWA’s Commissioner-General, Philippe Lazzarini, has reported that in the past two weeks alone, there have been 10 incidents of shooting at convoys, arrests of UN staff, bullying, stripping them naked, threats with arms, long delays at checkpoints, and forcing convoys to move during the dark or abort.Israel has barred the head of the United Nations relief agency from entering Gaza for the second timeIsrael has barred the head of the United Nations relief agency from entering Gaza for the second time
The recent fighting has forced the evacuation of Abu Youssef al-Najjar Hospital, one of the main medical centers receiving people wounded in airstrikes on Rafah. It is not yet clear how many patients have been moved to other facilities. The looming operation threatens to widen the rift between Israel and the United States, its main backer. The U.S. is concerned about the fate of around 1.3 million Palestinians crammed into Rafah, most of whom fled fighting elsewhere.