The UN is shocked by hunger in Gaza: "Civilians are walking corpses."

CairoThe Commissioner-General of the UN agency for Palestine refugees (UNRWA), Philippe Lazzarini, denounced this Thursday that, due to the famine caused by Israel in Gaza, people in the Strip "are neither alive nor dead" but rather "walking corpses." The UN diplomat warned in particular about the situation of the majority of children—"emaciated, weak, and at high risk of dying" if they do not receive urgent treatment—who are being treated by his teams in the territory.

Lazzarini's statements come a day after More than 100 NGOs from around the world made a joint appeal to the international community to act to open all land crossings in Gaza; restore the full flow of food, water, shelter, medical supplies, and fuel; end Israel's siege of the Strip; and agree to a truce. The organizations, including Médecins Sans Frontières, Oxfam, and Amnesty International, stressed that the use of starvation against civilians is a war crime. Major international news agencies also warned that their journalists in Gaza have no food for themselves or their families.

In his statement, Lazzarini stated that, according to the latest UNRWA report, 20% of children in Gaza City are already suffering from malnutrition. Last week, the agency he heads had warned that, throughout the Strip, the percentage of malnutrition among children stood at 10%, a substantial increase from the 6% recorded the previous month in the south of the Palestinian enclave and the 2.4% documented in February. According to the Hamas-controlled Gaza Ministry of Health, this Tuesday, more than 100 deaths from malnutrition were recorded in the territory, 80 of them children.

Lazzarini stressed that the hunger caused by Israel is affecting everyone, even those trying to save lives, and lamented that UNRWA health workers "survive on a small meal a day," if they eat anything at all, and that "it is increasingly common for them to faint from hunger while working." The 100 organizations that issued a joint statement on Wednesday also said they are witnessing "their colleagues and partners [inside Gaza] wasting away before their eyes."

The UNRWA Commissioner-General also stated that parents are already "too hungry to care for their children," and noted that those who come to his clinics "do not have the energy, food, or means to follow medical advice." "Families can no longer cope; they are collapsing, unable to survive," he stated, warning that when "caregivers cannot find enough food, the entire humanitarian system collapses."

Despite the seriousness of the situation and the increasingly clear evidence of the extent of hunger in Gaza, the Israeli government continues to deny the situation and insists on maintaining the siege on the territory. On Thursday, its Heritage Minister, Amichai Eliyahu, a member of one of the far-right parties in the government, stated in a local radio interview that "there is no hunger" in Gaza and that they must continue waging war against the "monsters" of the Strip. "And we shouldn't worry about hunger in the Strip; let the world take care of it. No nation feeds its enemies. We've gone completely crazy," he added.

Hamas responds to the ceasefire proposal

Meanwhile, negotiations on a ceasefire in Gaza showed little sign of progress on Thursday. Hamas sent its response to the US proposal for a 60-day truce to the mediating countries this morning. The organization, which claims to have agreed on the terms with the other Palestinian factions, claimed to have included three amendments to the clauses regarding the entry of humanitarian aid into the Strip, the withdrawal of Israeli troops, and guarantees that the ceasefire would be permanent. In the afternoon, however, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office stated that, in light of Hamas's response, they had decided to return their negotiating team to the country for "additional consultations."

Hamas has repeatedly expressed its willingness to release the 49 Israeli hostages held in the Strip since October 7, 2023—27 of whom have died in captivity—if Israel agrees to the above conditions. In fact, for its part, Israel demands the dismantling of Hamas and the exile of its leaders, in addition to maintaining military positions inside Gaza and the option to resume attacks at any time.

In an attempt to break the deadlock in the negotiations, White House Special Envoy for the Middle East Steve Witkoff was scheduled to travel to Italy this Thursday to hold talks on the Gaza ceasefire with senior officials from Israel and Qatar. Should his intervention ultimately help unblock the talks, the US State Department has left the door open in recent days for Witkoff to travel to Doha to finalize the details.