The head of UNRWA, Philippe Lazzarini, has issued a damning indictment of Israel's blockade policy in Gaza, declaring that starvation has become a weapon of war. In a stark social media statement, the UN official described how Israel's month-long siege has transformed basic survival into a battlefield tactic.  

"Israel isn't just fighting Hamas - it's systematically starving 2.4 million civilians," Lazzarini asserted, detailing how closed border crossings and aid restrictions have left bakeries empty and children malnourished. The once-busy Kerem Shalom crossing now stands idle, its gates locked since March 2 despite the UN warning that 80% of Gazans depend entirely on humanitarian aid.  

The consequences are visceral: parents skipping meals to feed children, hospitals reporting sharp rises in acute malnutrition cases, and aid trucks piling up at borders while Gaza's food systems collapse. This isn't collateral damage, Lazzarini stressed - it's calculated policy.  

"Turning food into a weapon violates every principle of humanity," the UNRWA chief warned, demanding immediate border reopenings. Yet as Gaza's hunger crisis deepens, Israel continues its chokehold - proving, critics say, that famine isn't an unintended consequence of war, but its intended outcome.