UN agency in Gaza says urgent ceasefire is `a matter of life and death’ for millions of Palestinians

By EDITH M. LEDERER
Associated Press

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The head of the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees is telling a U.N. emergency meeting “an immediate humanitarian ceasefire has become a matter of life and death for millions.” Philippe Lazzarini accused Israel of “collective punishment” of Palestinians and the forced displacement of civilians. He warned that a further breakdown of civil order following the looting of the agency’s warehouses by panicked Palestinians searching for food and other aid “will make it extremely difficult, if not impossible, for the largest U.N. agency in Gaza to continue operating.” According to the latest U.N. figures from Gaza’s Ministry of Health, more than 8,300 people have been killed – 66% of them women and children.