DaysofPal – Philippe Lazzarini, the head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), has issued a powerful denunciation of Israel following a tragic raid that resulted in the deaths of 15 Palestinians, many of whom were women and children, outside a medical center in central Gaza.
In a statement shared on X, Lazzarini characterized the killings as part of “the most cruel and Machiavellian scheme to kill,” accusing Israel of deliberately targeting civilians who find themselves caught between two dire options: starvation or gunfire.
“There is no escape. Their choices are reduced to two deaths,” Lazzarini expressed. “Gaza has turned into a graveyard for children and those who are starving to death.”
The victims, who included nine children and four women, were waiting in line outside the Project Hope Foundation’s medical center in Deir al-Balah when the strike took place on Thursday. They had come to collect essential medications and nutritional supplements amid a humanitarian crisis that has pushed much of the Gaza Strip to the edge of famine.
Eyewitnesses and local journalists described the scene as chaotic and heartbreaking. Footage captured mothers crying out for their children, some carrying lifeless bodies, while medics hurried to assist the injured amidst the rubble and dust. The emergency rooms at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital quickly became overwhelmed.
Among those who lost their lives were children under ten, according to medical sources.
“This isn’t collateral damage. This is intentional,” stated Dr. Mohammed Abu Salmiya, director of Shifa Medical Complex in Gaza City. “Children are now being targeted on purpose.”
Lazzarini warned that the international community’s failure to intervene is enabling impunity and eroding fundamental human values.
“The norms and values we claim to uphold are being buried in Gaza,” he said. “If we don’t act now, what lies ahead is only more chaos, more death, and more shame.”
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