UNRWA chief slams Israeli Gaza airdrops as "smokescreen" while 6,000 aid trucks await entry amid starvation crisis
By isabelle // 2025-07-28
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  • Israel’s airdrops into Gaza are criticized as ineffective and dangerous by UNRWA’s chief, Philippe Lazzarini.
  • Aid agencies warn airdrops risk killing desperate civilians scrambling for food and fail to address mass starvation.
  • Blockade restrictions prevent 6,000 aid trucks from entering Gaza, worsening famine despite more efficient ground delivery options.
  • Malnutrition and violence soar, with health workers collapsing from hunger and more than 1,000 aid-seekers killed since May.
  • International groups demand Israel lift the siege, calling airdrops a "grotesque distraction" while crossings remain closed.
As Gaza’s humanitarian catastrophe spirals toward mass starvation, the head of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) has condemned Israel’s airdrop operations as an expensive and ineffective “smokescreen” that fails to address the root cause of the crisis: Israel’s blockade. Philippe Lazzarini, UNRWA’s commissioner-general, warned that drops from the sky are not only inefficient but also risk killing desperate civilians scrambling for food. His comments come as malnutrition ravages Gaza, with 90,000 Palestinian women and children urgently needing treatment and famine-related deaths climbing daily. Lazzarini’s blunt critique follows recent Israeli military airdrops—including seven pallets of flour, sugar, and canned goods—which aid agencies dismiss as a token gesture. “Gaza airdrops will not reverse the deepening starvation,” Lazzarini wrote on X. “They are expensive, inefficient, and can even kill starving civilians. It is a distraction and screensmoke [sic].” He stressed that political will, not symbolic aid, is required to lift the siege and allow ground deliveries.

The siege’s toll

With Gaza’s death toll nearing 60,000 and starvation now weaponized, according to the World Food Programme, UNRWA reports that 6,000 trucks laden with aid sit idle in Jordan and Egypt, barred from entering. Ground transport, Lazzarini argued, would be “easier, more effective, faster, cheaper, and safer” while preserving dignity for Gazans. Yet Israel maintains tight restrictions, claiming Hamas diverts aid—an allegation Hamas denies and the UN calls baseless. The blockade’s consequences are brutally visible: videos show Palestinians brawling over scarce supplies, while health workers faint from hunger. “Doctors, nurses, journalists, and humanitarians are hungry,” Lazzarini said in a recent statement. “Many are now fainting due to hunger and exhaustion while performing their duties.” Notably, even attempts to bypass UN channels, such as the U.S.-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), have devolved into lethal chaos, with more than 1,000 killed in aid-related violence since May. Aid groups universally dismiss airdrops as a stopgap. Ciarán Donnelly of the International Rescue Committee noted they “never deliver the volume or the quality" needed, while the Norwegian Refugee Council described scenes of people “drowning” while chasing aid blown into the sea. Shaina Low, an NRC representative, recounted how dropped boxes have crushed people and triggered violent stampedes. The math underscores the futility: BBC analysis found that feeding Gaza’s 2.1 million residents just once would require 160 flights, which is a logistical impossibility given regional powers’ limited cargo capacity. Jordan and the UAE, set to conduct drops, possess fewer than 20 C-130s combined. “Driving aid through is much easier,” Lazzarini reiterated, exasperated by what he calls a “grotesque distraction” from Israel’s responsibility to open crossings.

Political deadlock

Israel defends its measures by citing security concerns, insisting Hamas exploits aid convoys—a claim undermined by a USAID report finding no evidence of systematic looting. Meanwhile, international pressure mounts. The UN, relief agencies, and European governments accuse Israel of obstructing aid through bureaucratic hurdles and “sadistic” sniper attacks on civilians near distribution points. As ceasefire talks stall, U.S. President Donald Trump urged Israel to “get rid” of Hamas, but the immediate crisis demands solutions beyond rhetoric. With 85 children already dead from malnutrition, per Gaza’s health ministry, and 90% of homes destroyed, Lazzarini’s plea is unequivocal: “Lift the siege, open the gates, and guarantee safe movements.” Until then, airdrops remain a deadly charade—one that saves no one but absolves complicity. Sources for this article include: RT.com BBC.co.uk Reuters.com
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