NEW YORK /PNN /

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) has raised alarm over the growing accumulation of waste in Gaza, warning that it is endangering both public health and lives.

In a post shared on X on Friday, UNRWA asserted that many people in Gaza have been forced to live in tents surrounded by heaps of waste. The agency added that this worsening waste crisis is intensifying both environmental and health challenges, making the already difficult humanitarian situation for Palestinians even more perilous.

On Thursday, UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini confirmed that no humanitarian aid has entered Gaza in over three weeks, marking the longest period without supplies since the beginning of the ongoing Israeli military actions 18 months ago. 

Lazzarini underscored the urgent need for the Israeli blockade to be lifted, the reopening of border crossings to allow the regular flow of humanitarian aid and commercial supplies, the cessation of airstrikes, and the resumption of the ceasefire in Gaza.