(MENAFN) The United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) revealed on Wednesday that the Israeli military kills an average of 100 Palestinians each day in the Gaza Strip, with additional fatalities caused by starvation and lack of medical care.

“On average, 100 people are reported killed every day in Gaza due to the Israeli military operation or shootings at the ‘Gaza Humanitarian Foundation’ food points. Meanwhile, others die of hunger or lack of medical care,” UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini stated on the US social media platform X.

Since October 2023, Israeli forces have killed more than 66,100 Palestinians in Gaza, predominantly women and children. The ongoing bombardment has devastated the territory, rendering it unlivable and triggering a widespread famine.

On May 27, Israel initiated an alternative aid program through the US-supported Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), circumventing the UN and other international aid groups. Since its launch, nearly 2,600 Palestinians have died and 19,000 have been wounded by Israeli gunfire while attempting to collect aid at distribution centers.

“The growing death toll is fueling a growing indifference,” Lazzarini warned, emphasizing the urgent need to document what he described as “ongoing Israeli crimes in the Gaza Strip.”

“The suffering must be heard and attended to,” he insisted, reiterating his call for an immediate ceasefire.

In a related development, Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty voiced his support for UNRWA’s humanitarian work during a meeting with Lazzarini at the Munich Leaders Meeting in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday. Abdelatty underscored the critical need for sustained financial and political backing of the UN agency.

He urged the global community to “pressure Israel to allow UNRWA’s relief convoys into Gaza, especially in light of the famine that the Gaza Strip is facing as a result of Israeli starvation policies,” according to a statement from Egypt’s Foreign Ministry.

Following accusations from the Israeli government that some UNRWA staff were involved in attacks on October 7, 2023, Israel halted UNRWA’s operations in both the West Bank and Gaza after a vote in the Knesset in October 2024.

Established after the 1948 Palestinian Nakba, UNRWA provides vital aid to roughly 5.9 million Palestinians across Gaza, the West Bank, Jordan, Syria, and Lebanon.

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