The UNRWA Commissioner-General has warned that humanitarian access to the besieged Gaza Strip must urgently expand to prevent further deterioration in conditions for the population.

In a statement posted on his official X account, Philippe Lazzarini echoed calls made to the UN Security Council to allow aid agencies to operate at the scale required to meet overwhelming needs.

“I echo the call of my colleague Ramiz Alakbarov to the UN Security Council for humanitarians to be allowed to operate at the required scale,” Lazzarini said.

He stressed that months after the declared “ceasefire,” humanitarian operations continue to be “hindered by continued violence, displacement and access restrictions on the ground.”

Lazzarini pointed to bureaucratic barriers and limitations imposed on humanitarian actors as key factors worsening the crisis. These include “bureaucratic hurdles, limits on which organisations are allowed to bring in supplies, and the refusal to allow in enough mobile homes, rescue equipment, fuel, and medical supplies.”

The UNRWA chief warned that Gaza is approaching a critical moment, with more than two million people still trapped in emergency conditions.

“Gaza is at a turning point,” Lazzarini said, stressing that “the more than two million people there must be given the opportunity to move from acute emergency and start on the path to recovery.”