Let aid in, pleads UN chief, as even his staff faint from hunger in Gaza

Starvation kills at least 45 in four days as talks on ceasefire collapse

- William Christou Jerusalem Angela Giuffrida Rome

The head of the UN agency for Palestinians said yesterday that his frontline staff were fainting from hunger, as the number of people dying from starvation in Gaza continued to rise and hopes for a ceasefire faded after negotiations collapsed.

"This deepening crisis is affecting everyone, including those trying to save lives in the war-torn enclave. When caretakers cannot find enough to eat, the entire humanitarian system is collapsing," Philippe Lazzarini, the head of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (Unrwa), said.

At least 45 people have died of hunger in four days this week. The UN and aid groups blame Israel's blockade of almost all aid into the territory for the lack of food.

Lazzarini said in a statement that a colleague in the territory had told him: "People in Gaza are neither dead nor alive, they are walking corpses."

He added that Unrwa had the equivalent of 6,000 loaded trucks of food and medical supplies waiting in Jordan and Egypt, and urged Israeli officials to allow "humanitarian partners to bring unrestricted and uninterrupted humanitarian assistance to Gaza".

Reports of people dropping dead of hunger have emerged in recent days.

Civil defence workers have released pictures of gaunt bodies with little more than skin covering their bones.

Medical sources in Gaza said two more people had died from hunger yesterday, both of whom were sick and had not eaten for days.