Agency chief Lazzarini urges political will to prioritize land access over inefficient aid deliveries as famine tightens grip on Gaza
The chief of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) on Friday strongly criticized the continued reliance on aid airdrops into Gaza, calling them “inefficient, insufficient, and at least 100 times more costly than trucks.”
Philippe Lazzarini stressed in a statement that “trucks carry twice as much aid as planes,” and questioned the logic behind prioritizing air deliveries while road crossings remain closed.
“If there is political will to allow airdrops, which are highly costly, insufficient & inefficient, there should be similar political will to open the road crossings,” he said.
Lazzarini warned that “the only way to respond to the famine is to flood Gaza with assistance.”
“UNRWA, the largest UN agency on the ground, has 6,000 trucks loaded with aid stuck outside Gaza waiting for the green light to enter,” he noted.
He also recalled the temporary ceasefire earlier this year as a clear example of what coordinated humanitarian access can achieve.
“The UN including UNRWA + partners were able to bring in 500 to 600 trucks a day during the ceasefire earlier this year,” he noted. “Aid reached the entire population of Gaza in safety & dignity. It succeeded in reversing the deepening starvation without any diversion of aid.”
Lazzarini stressed the unique role of the UNRWA in managing effective and secure aid delivery. “No alternative to the UN-coordinated response with UNRWA as the backbone had provided similar results.”
“Let’s go back to what works & let us do our job. This is what people in Gaza need today more than ever, together with a lasting ceasefire,” he said.
Rejecting international calls for a ceasefire, the Israeli army has pursued a brutal offensive on Gaza since Oct. 7, 2023, killing more than 60,000 Palestinians, most of them women and children. The relentless bombardment has destroyed the enclave and led to food shortages.
Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.
