UNRWA Urges Wide-Scale Aid Into Gaza After Israeli Airstrike Kills Palestinian

UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini said it is time to allow humanitarian aid to enter the Gaza Strip on a wide scale, adding that the prisoner exchange in the first phase of the Gaza ceasefire agreement is a beacon of hope after more than two years of darkness.

In Gaza, an Israeli airstrike targeted a house in the Maghazi refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip, injuring two Palestinians at dawn on Monday, while a third was killed as a result of injuries from a previous strike on Khan Younis.

Al-Jazeera Net

The Gaza Strip Ministry of Health said six Palestinians were martyred in the last 24 hours and that eight were injured, while it added that several victims are still under rubble and in the streets because rescue and civil defense teams have been unable to reach them.

UNRWA also said acute shortages of fuel, pesticides, tents and medicines are limiting the response to skin infections caused by rodents and insects, and it said there is an urgent need for an unrestricted flow of environmental health supplies and medical supplies into Gaza.

The Al-Jazeera Net account said Israeli occupation forces continue violations of the ceasefire that has been in effect since October 10, 2025, as Israeli artillery launched intensive bombardment east of Khan Younis and Israeli mortar fire targeted eastern neighborhoods of Gaza City and eastern and northern neighborhoods of Beit Lahia.

UNRWA denounced Israel's ongoing blocking of its humanitarian aid to Gaza, saying Israel continues to block the entry of its humanitarian aid to Gaza since March 2025 and leaving essential supplies stranded in neighboring countries.

UNRWA said on X that its humanitarian supplies, including food, hygiene kits, medicines, and shelters, remain blocked in warehouses in Egypt and Jordan, with entry into Gaza prohibited since March 2025.

Al-Jazeera Net

The TRT Français report also said Israel barred UNRWA operations in Occupied East Jerusalem since late 2024 and imposed growing restrictions on the agency, while Israeli Energy Minister Eli Cohen said Israel cut water and electricity to the UNRWA headquarters in Occupied East Jerusalem.

Cohen wrote on X, "By my words and by my actions, I have shut off UNRWA's tap," and the report said he personally oversaw the shutoff of public utilities inside the UNRWA compound.

The same TRT Français account tied the blockade and restrictions to ongoing violence, stating that according to the Gaza Health Ministry, 574 people have been killed and 1,518 wounded among Palestinians, in violation of the ceasefire concluded on October 10.

The Al-Jazeera Net report said ongoing Israeli violations of the ceasefire have resulted in 890 Palestinians killed and 2,677 others injured as of Saturday, citing the Health Ministry in the Strip.

It also described the ceasefire as having been in effect since October 10, 2025, and said the agreement was reached after two years of a genocidal war launched by Israel on October 8, 2023, continuing later in various forms.

The report said the war left more than 72,000 Palestinian martyrs and over 172,000 injured, with widespread destruction affecting 90% of civil infrastructure, and it added that the United Nations estimated reconstruction costs at about $70 billion.

In the same account, UNRWA said shortages are limiting responses to skin infections caused by rodents and insects, while it called for an unrestricted flow of environmental health supplies and medical supplies into Gaza.

Separately, the report said travel through the Rafah crossing from May 15 to May 21 of the current month did not exceed 28 percent of the target, with only 403 travelers allowed to depart out of 2,400 who were supposed to travel, and it said 2,287 trucks entered the Strip out of more than 4,200 trucks expected, a shortfall of over 70 percent.