The head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), Philippe Lazzarini, has warned that life in Gaza has become “absolutely unbearable,” stressing that global outrage over the crisis has yet to translate into decisive action.

Speaking at a press briefing at UN headquarters in New York on Thursday, Lazzarini urged the international community not to grow numb to the ongoing devastation.

“I think it's always important, day after day, to remind ourselves about the overall unfolding there, just to make sure that we do not start to feel outdated or indifferent,” he said.

He described conditions as so dire that despair has become a recurring theme among residents. “It's quite common now today to hear in Gaza that people just dream to be able to properly die, rather than to go through this suffering,” he noted.

Lazzarini underscored the urgency of action, emphasizing that outrage alone is insufficient. “I think it's very important to keep expressing total outrage on what's going on, and of course, and part of our frustration is that this outrage has not yet been translated into meaningful action, putting an end to the atrocity that we are recording on a daily basis.”

Despite immense challenges, he confirmed that UNRWA remains active in the enclave. “We are still operational in Gaza. We still have 12,000 staff,” he said, reiterating the agency’s call for immediate steps to alleviate suffering.

“We needed yesterday a ceasefire. We need yesterday the release of the hostages. We needed yesterday a scaling up of the imminent assistance to reverse what's unfolding onwards. We also need now is that we restore the humanitarian response”, added Lazzarini.

Israel’s genocidal war in Gaza has killed more than 65,000 Palestinians since October 7, 2023.