Philippe Lazzarini, Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), has urged Israel to allow the organisation’s food and nutrition convoys reach northern Gaza and to open additional land crossings to facilitate the delivery of aid amid international warnings of famine in the coastal enclave.

Lazzarini made the remarks on Friday in a post on social media platform X, a day after the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague ordered Israel take all necessary measures to ensure basic aid reaches the Palestinian population in the Gaza Strip.

He called on countries to increase pressure for the implementation of the court’s order and to reconsider their decisions regarding funding the agency, emphasising the urgency of bold actions to prevent famine in Gaza.