The head of the UN's Palestine relief agency, UNRWA, Philippe Lazzarini, has cautioned that a renewed Israeli military aggression in the densely populated southern region of Gaza could force a significant number of the 1 million refugees, including 900,000 taking refuge in UN buildings, to cross the border into Egypt.

Following his second visit to Gaza, where he interacted with Palestinians grappling with an overwhelming catastrophe, Lazzarini appealed to "Israel" to carefully consider the repercussions of pursuing its aggression in the southern region if the temporary ceasefire is not prolonged.

During an interview, he conveyed that the possibility of another aggression fills him with profound anxiety and a sense of foreboding.

“We already have a staggering human tragedy,” he tersely stated.

“We are in a race against time, and already disease is becoming as much a threat as the bombardment […] The combined impact of the bombardment and the siege has already pushed people to the south, if there is fighting there is indeed a higher likelihood that they might wish to flee further south and beyond the border,” he said.

Lazzarini has emerged as one of the most vocal UN humanitarian figures in recent weeks, consistently urging "Israel" to adhere to international law and maintain "proportionality" in its actions, yet without anything done on the ground.

His apprehension is focused on the consequences of the war in the southern region, which he characterizes as "completely overloaded". This concern has intensified following "Israel's" forced displacement of civilians from the northern part of the territory to the south.

“The Gaza Strip was already known as being one of the most crowded places in the world. And now, you have the majority of the population moved towards the south,” he said.

“So, you have the almost complete concentration of the population in half the territory – an area that cannot support such a presence because of even the lack of water; it simply cannot cater to so many people. Remember people from Gaza City and the north have been asked to go to the south because they were told the south would be safer. Yet a large proportion have been killed in the south,” he added.

Similarly, Lazzarini expressed reservations about the idea of establishing unilateral safe zones in the southern region for civilians, citing significant risks, knowing that "Israel" bombed the same routes that "Israel" deemed safe for the Palestinians to take to reach the south. 

'International humanitarian law does not apply the same for everyone'

Elsewhere in his remarks, he noted that a million people residing in UN facilities, with 100,000 situated in the northern region, are seeking refuge for protection.

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Despite the known locations of these facilities, almost 100 installations have been affected either directly or indirectly, he stressed.

Consequently, this has resulted in the killing of over 200 people, and the number of injuries has surpassed 900 within UN installations, as per Lazzarini.

“Now, we are told, or we hear, that people should move further south-west if the offensive takes place in Khan Yunis […] but you cannot declare an area safe unilaterally in a war zone," he added.

'A collective punishment'

He also called on "Israel" to consider its global reputation. “The longer this war lasts, and the more people die there will be a very strong feeling in the region that international humanitarian law does not apply the same for everyone, the further the region will be polarised, and the further we will be from any peace prospect in the future,” he said. “We should never ever underestimate this feeling not just in Gaza, but in the region."
 
“My only observation here is that imposing a siege on an entire population seems to me to be a collective punishment,” he said.

“The most difficult concept in international humanitarian law is the concept of proportionality, but we have to be careful not to use this notion to justify the unjustifiable," he added.

He also acknowledged that he fails to comprehend how we can rationalize, based on the principles of proportionality and distinction, the death toll surpassing 15,000 people in a span of 40 days, particularly when the majority entails women and children.

"I don’t see how this can be justified through the concept of proportionality and self-defence. That’s a very personal view. By any account these are staggering figures, and a staggering human tragedy,” he stated.

The UNRWA chief also appealed for permission for over 200 trucks daily to pass through the Rafah crossing and for "Israel" to open additional crossings.

Reflecting on the refugees' situation upon his recent visit to a UNRWA training center, describing it as prison-like, Lazzarini stated, “We are hosting 35,000 displaced people there and people are living in just appalling unsanitary living conditions. You have sewage water starting to pour into the courtyard of the compound. The doors of the compound were locked just like a closed prison because it cannot host more people. It was shocking."

He went on to say that people arrived approximately 30 to 40 days ago, forsaking all their possessions, stressing that the majority witnessed the destruction of their houses and apartments, and they are presently residing in the same clothing they wore when they first arrived 40 days ago.

“I talked to a father who suddenly burst into tears when he started to describe the living conditions and how he feels. His family are living in the four square metres of space, sleeping on the concrete floor. They have no mattress, they have no blanket, they are struggling to have one meal a day which is primarily canned food or, or piece of bread. They are queueing to get water. They’re queueing for hours to go to the toilets," he said.

"And his story is a story of almost anyone living there,” he added.

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