The United Nations’ Palestine Refugee Agency (UNRWA) has made an urgent call on Israeli Authorities to protect all civilians sheltering in Gaza.

UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini said in a statement on Saturday that with water supplies running dry due to Israel cutting off all utilities to Gaza, “it has become a matter of life and death”.

The appeal came as the Israeli-imposed deadline for people to evacuate expired.

Lazzarini said following a week of “utter anguish and devastation” for civilians in both Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory, the UN relief chief on Saturday said he fears “the worst is yet to come.”

“In Israel, families are reeling from the horror of last Saturday’s attack”, said Humanitarian Affairs chief Martin Griffiths.

“More than a thousand people have been killed and many more have been injured. Over 100 people are held captive.

Griffiths said: “In Gaza, families have been bombed while inching their way south along congested, damaged roads, following an evacuation order that left hundreds of thousands of people scrambling for safety but with nowhere to go.”

He said the past week has been a test for humanity, and humanity is failing, warning that the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip, “already critical, was fast becoming untenable.

The UN statement said more than 1,300 people were killed in Israel after Hamas fighters raided settlements close to Gaza last Saturday.

“In response, more than 2,200 have been killed during Israel’s aerial offensive on Gaza, according to Palestinian authorities”.

On Friday, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said it would be “impossible” for civilians in Gaza to comply with the evacuation order without devastating humanitarian consequences.

He called on the world to unite in support of the fundamental principle of protecting civilians, and “finding a lasting solution to this unending cycle of death and destruction.”

source:UN refugee chief calls for Gaza civilians to be protected (algoafm.co.za)